Privacy and Data Policy

Data privacy

Thank you for your interest in our project. Data protection is of particular importance to the Syrian Heritage Archive Project. The Syrian Heritage Archive Project website can be used without the need to provide any personal data. However, if a person concerned wishes to make use of special services of our project via our website, it may be necessary to process personal data. If the processing of personal data is necessary and there is no legal basis for such processing, we generally obtain the consent of the data subject.

The processing of personal data, such as the name, address, e-mail address or telephone number of a data subject, is always carried out in accordance with the Basic Data Protection Regulation and in accordance with the country-specific data protection regulations applicable to the Syrian Heritage Archive Project. By means of this data protection declaration, our project would like to inform the public about the type, scope and purpose of the personal data collected, used and processed by us. Furthermore, data subjects will be informed of their rights by means of this data protection declaration.

The Syrian Heritage Archive Project, as data controller, has implemented numerous technical and organisational measures to ensure the most complete protection possible for personal data processed via this website. Nevertheless, Internet-based data transmissions can have security gaps, so that absolute protection cannot be guaranteed. For this reason, every person concerned is free to transmit personal data to us by alternative means, for example by telephone.

1. Definitions

The Syrian Heritage Archive Project’s privacy statement is based on the terms used by the European legislator for directives and regulations when adopting the basic data protection regulation (DS-GMO). Our data protection declaration should be easy to read and understand both for the public and for our customers and business partners. To ensure this, we would like to explain the terms used in advance.

We use the following terms, among others, in this data protection declaration:

  • personal details: Personal data are all information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter “data subject”). Identifiable is a natural person who can be identified directly or indirectly, in particular by assignment to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or one or more special characteristics that express the physical, physiological, genetic, psychological, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.
  • Data subject: Data subject is any identified or identifiable natural person whose personal data are processed by the controller.
  • Processing: processing means any operation or series of operations carried out with or without the aid of automated procedures in connection with personal data, such as the collection, collection, organisation, arrangement, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, retrieval, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or any other form of provision, reconciliation or linking, restriction, erasure or destruction.
  • Restriction of processing: Restriction of processing is the marking of stored personal data with the aim of restricting their future processing.
  • Profiling: Profiling is any type of automated processing of personal data consisting in the use of such personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyse or predict aspects relating to the work performance, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behaviour, whereabouts or relocation of that natural person.
  • Pseudonymisation: Pseudonymisation is the processing of personal data in such a way that the personal data can no longer be assigned to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, provided that this additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organisational measures to ensure that the personal data are not assigned to an identified or identifiable natural person.
  • Controller: The controller or controller is a natural or legal person, public authority, institution or other bodies which alone or jointly with others decides on the purposes and means of processing personal data. Where the purposes and means of such processing are laid down by Union law or by the law of the Member States, the controller or the specific criteria for his appointment may be laid down in accordance with Union law or the law of the Member States.
  • Processor: Processor is a natural or legal person, authority, institution or other bodies that process personal data on behalf of the data controller.
  • Recipient: A natural or legal person, authority, institution or other bodies to whom personal data is disclosed, whether or not it is a third party. However, authorities which may receive personal data under Union law or the law of the Member States within the framework of a particular investigation mandate shall not be regarded as recipients.
  • Third party: a third party is a natural or legal person, authority, institution or other bodies other than the data subject, the data processor, the data processor and the persons authorised to process the personal data under the direct responsibility of the data processor or the data processor.
  • Agreement: Agreement shall mean any informed and unequivocal expression of will voluntarily be given by the data subject in the particular case in the form of a declaration or other clear affirmative act by which the data subject indicates his or her consent to the processing of personal data concerning him or her.

2.  Name and address of the controller

The person responsible within the meaning of the Basic Data Protection Regulation, other data protection laws in force in the Member States of the European Union and other provisions of a data protection nature is this:

Syrian Heritage Archive Project
c/o Museum für Islamische Kunst
Geschwister-Scholl-Strasse 6
10117 Berlin

Phone: +49 (0)30 60269 00-0 (-1)
E-mail:
Website: syrian-heritage.org

3. Cookies

The Syrian Heritage Archive Project website uses cookies. Cookies are text files which are stored on a computer system via an Internet browser.

Many websites and servers use cookies. Many cookies contain a so-called cookie ID. A cookie ID is a unique identifier of the cookie. It consists of a string of characters through which Internet pages and servers can be assigned to the specific Internet browser in which the cookie was stored. This enables the visited Internet pages and servers to distinguish the individual browser of the person concerned from other Internet browsers that contain other cookies. A particular Internet browser can be recognized and identified by its unique cookie ID.

By using cookies, the Syrian Heritage Archive Project can provide users of this website with more user-friendly services that would not be possible without cookies.

By means of a cookie, the information and offers on our website can be optimized for the user. Cookies enable us, as already mentioned, to recognize the users of our website. The purpose of this recognition is to make it easier for users to use our website. For example, the user of a website that uses cookies does not have to re-enter his access data each time he visits the website because this is taken over by the website and the cookie stored on the user’s computer system. Another example is the cookie of a shopping basket in the online shop. The online shop remembers the items that a customer has placed in the virtual shopping basket via a cookie.

The person concerned can prevent the setting of cookies by our website at any time by means of an appropriate setting of the Internet browser used and thus permanently object to the setting of cookies. Furthermore, cookies that have already been set can be deleted at any time via an Internet browser or other software programs. This is possible in all common internet browsers. If the person concerned deactivates the setting of cookies in the Internet browser used, not all functions of our Internet site may be fully usable.

4. Collection of general data and information

The Syrian Heritage Archive Project website collects a series of general data and information each time a person or an automated system accesses the website. This general data and information are stored in the log files of the server. We may record (1) the browser types and versions used, (2) the operating system used by the accessing system, (3) the website from which an accessing system reaches our website (so-called referrer), (4) the subwebsites which are accessed via an accessing system on our website, (5) the date and time of access to the Website, (6) an Internet Protocol address (IP address), (7) the Internet service providers of the accessing system, and (8) other similar data and information used for security purposes in the event of attacks on our information technology systems.

When using this general data and information, the Syrian Heritage Archive Project does not draw any conclusions about the person concerned. Rather, this information is required to (1) correctly deliver the contents of our website, (2) optimize the contents of our website and the advertising for it, (3) ensure the permanent functionality of our information technology systems and the technology of our website, and (4) provide law enforcement authorities with the information necessary for criminal prosecution in the event of a cyber attack. These anonymously collected data and information are therefore evaluated by the Syrian Heritage Archive Project both statistically and with the aim of increasing data protection and data security in our company in order ultimately to ensure an optimal level of protection for the personal data processed by us. The anonymous data of the server log files are stored separately from all personal data provided by a person concerned.

5. Possibility to contact us via the website

Due to legal requirements, the Syrian Heritage Archive Project website contains information that enables us to contact our project electronically quickly and to communicate directly with us, which also includes a general address for so-called electronic mail (e-mail address). If a data subject contacts the data controller via e-mail or a contact form, the personal data transmitted by the data subject will be stored automatically. Such personal data voluntarily provided by a data subject to the controller will be stored for the purpose of processing or contacting the data subject. This personal data is not passed on to third parties.

6. Routine deletion and blocking of personal data

The controller shall process and store the personal data of the data subject only for the time necessary to achieve the data retention purpose or to the extent provided for by the European regulator or other legislators in laws or regulations to which the controller is subject.

If the storage purpose ceases to apply or if a storage period prescribed by the European Directive and Regulation Giver or another competent legislator expires, the personal data is routinely blocked or deleted in accordance with the statutory provisions.

7. Rights of the data subject

  • Right to confirmation: Every data subject shall have the right granted by the European legislator of directives and regulations to require the controller to confirm whether personal data concerning him/her are being processed. If a data subject wishes to exercise this right of confirmation, he may contact an employee of the controller at any time.
  • Right of access: Any person concerned by the processing of personal data has the right granted by the European legislator of directives and regulations to obtain, at any time and free of charge, information from the controller concerning the personal data relating to him/her stored and a copy of that information. Furthermore, the European regulator has granted the data subject the following information:
    • the processing purposes
    • the categories of personal data to be processed
    • the recipients or categories of recipients to whom the personal data have been or are still being disclosed, in particular recipients in third countries or international organizations
    • if possible, the planned duration for which the personal data will be stored or, if this is not possible, the criteria for determining this duration
    • the existence of a right of rectification or deletion of personal data concerning him or of a restriction on processing by the controller or of a right of opposition to such processing
      the existence of a right of appeal to a supervisory authority
    • if the personal data is not collected from the data subject: All available information about the origin of the data
    • the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling in accordance with Article 22(1) and (4) DS-GMO and, at least in these cases, meaningful information on the logic involved and the scope and intended effects of such processing for the data subject

Furthermore, the data subject has a right of access to information as to whether personal data have been transferred to a third country or to an international organization. Moreover, if this is the case, the data subject has the right to obtain information on the appropriate safeguards in connection with the transfer, and if a data subject wishes to exercise this right of access, he may contact an employee of the controller at any time.

  • Right to correction: Any person data subject to the processing of personal data shall have the right granted by the European legislator of directives and regulations to request the immediate correction of inaccurate personal data concerning him/her. Furthermore, taking into account the purposes of the processing, the data subject has the right to request the completion of incomplete personal data, including by means of a supplementary declaration.
  • Right to erasure (right to be forgotten): Any person data subject to the processing of personal data has the right granted by the European legislator of directives and regulations to require the controller to erase personal data concerning him/her without delay, provided that one of the following reasons applies and insofar as the processing is not necessary:
    • The personal data have been collected or otherwise processed for such purposes for which they are no longer necessary.
    • The data subject withdraws his/her consent on which the processing was based pursuant to Article 6(1)(a) DS-GMO or Article 9(2)(a) DS-GMO, and there is no other legal basis for the processing.
    • The data subject opposes processing under Article 21(1) DS-GMO and there are no overriding legitimate grounds for processing or the data subject opposes processing under Article 21(2) DS-GMO.
    • The personal data have been processed unlawfully.
    • The deletion of personal data is necessary to fulfill a legal obligation under Union law or the law of the Member States to which the data controller is subject.
    • The personal data was collected in relation to information society services offered in accordance with Art. 8 para. 1 DS-GMO.

If one of the above reasons applies and a data subject wishes to have personal data stored in the Syrian Heritage Archive Project deleted, he/she may contact an employee of the data controller at any time. The employee of the Syrian Heritage Archive Project will arrange for the request for deletion to be complied with immediately. If the Syrian Heritage Archive Project has made the personal data public and our project as data controller is obliged to delete the personal data pursuant to Art. 17 para. 1 DS-GMO, the Syrian Heritage Archive Project shall take appropriate measures, including technical measures, taking into account the available technology and implementation costs, to inform other data processors who process the published personal data, that the data subject has requested that all links to this personal data or copies or replications of this personal data be deleted by these other data processors, insofar as processing is not necessary. The staff of the Syrian Heritage Archive Project will take the necessary steps in individual cases.

  • Right to limitation of processing: Any person data subject to the processing of personal data has the right granted by the European legislator of directives and regulations to require the controller to restrict processing if one of the following conditions is met:
    • The accuracy of the personal data is disputed by the data subject for a period that enables the data controller to verify the accuracy of the personal data.
    • The processing is unlawful, the data subject refuses to delete the personal data and instead requests that the use of the personal data be restricted.
    • The data controller no longer needs the personal data for the purposes of the processing, but the data subject needs them to assert, exercise or defend legal claims.
    • The data subject has lodged an objection to the processing pursuant to Art. 21 para. 1 DS-GMO and it has not yet been determined whether the legitimate reasons of the data subject outweigh those of the data subject.

If one of the above conditions is met and a data subject wishes to request the restriction of personal data stored by the Syrian Heritage Archive Project, he/she may contact an employee of the controller at any time. The staff member of the Syrian Heritage Archive Project will cause the processing to be restricted.

  • Right to data transferability: Any person concerned by the processing of personal data has the right granted by the European legislator to receive personal data concerning him/her provided by the data subject to a controller in a structured, current and machine-readable format. It shall also have the right to transmit such data to another data controller without obstruction by the controller to whom the personal data have been made available, provided that the processing is based on the consent provided for in Article 6(1)(a) DS GMO or Article 9(2)(a) DS GMO or on a contract in accordance with Article 6(1)(b) DS GMO and that the processing is carried out using automated procedures, unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task in the public interest or in the exercise of public authority conferred on the data controller. Furthermore, in exercising their right to data transferability pursuant to Art. 20 para. 1 DS-GMO, the data subject has the right to request that the personal data be transferred directly by a data controller to another data controller, insofar as this is technically feasible and does not impair the rights and freedoms of other persons.
  • The right of opposition: Any person data subject to the processing of personal data has the right to object at any time to the processing of personal data concerning him/her on the basis of Article 6(1)(e) or (f) of the DS-GMO, for reasons arising from his particular situation. This also applies to profiling based on these provisions. The Syrian Heritage Archive Project will no longer process personal data in the event of an objection unless we can prove compelling grounds for processing that outweigh the interests, rights, and freedoms of the data subject or the processing serves to assert, exercise or defend legal claims. If the Syrian Heritage Archive Project processes personal data for direct marketing purposes, the data subject has the right to object at any time to the processing of personal data for such advertising purposes. This also applies to profiling insofar as it is connected with such direct advertising. If the person concerned objects to the Syrian Heritage Archive Project processing for direct marketing purposes, the Syrian Heritage Archive Project will no longer process the personal data for these purposes. Furthermore, the data subject has the right to object to the processing of personal data concerning him/her which is carried out at the Syrian Heritage Archive Project for scientific or historical research purposes or for statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) DS-GMO, for reasons arising from his or her particular situation, unless such processing is necessary for the fulfilment of a task in the public interest. To exercise the right of objection, the person concerned may directly contact any Syrian Heritage Archive Project employee or any other employee. The data subject shall also be free to exercise his right of opposition in relation to the use of information society services by means of automated procedures using technical specifications, notwithstanding Directive 2002/58/EC.
  • Automated decisions in individual cases including profiling: Any person data subject to the processing of personal data shall have the right granted by the European legislator of directives and regulations not to be subject to a decision based exclusively on automated processing, including profiling, which has legal effect against him or significantly affects him in a similar manner, provided that the decision (1) is not necessary for the conclusion or performance of a contract between the data subject and the data controller, or (2) is admissible under Union or Member State law to which the data controller is subject and that such law contains appropriate measures to safeguard the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of the data subject, or (3) with the express consent of the data subject. If the decision (1) is necessary for the conclusion or performance of a contract between the data subject and the data controller or (2) is taken with the express consent of the data subject, the Syrian Heritage Archive Project shall take appropriate measures to safeguard the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of the data subject, including at least the right to obtain the intervention of a data controller, to state his own position and to challenge the decision. If the data subject wishes to assert rights relating to automated decisions, he or she may contact an employee of the controller at any time.
  • Right to revoke consent under data protection law: Any person concerned by the processing of personal data has the right granted by the European legislator of directives and regulations to revoke consent to the processing of personal data at any time. If the data subject wishes to exercise his/her right to withdraw his/her consent, he/she may contact an employee of the controller at any time.

8. Facebook Use and Usage Privacy Policy

The data controller has integrated components of Facebook on this website. Facebook is a social network.

A social network is an Internet-based social meeting place, an online community that usually enables users to communicate with each other and interact in virtual space. A social network can serve as a platform for the exchange of opinions and experiences or enables the Internet community to provide personal or company-related information. Facebook enables social network users to create private profiles, upload photos and network via friendship requests, among other things.

Facebook is operated by Facebook, Inc, 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA. The person responsible for the processing of personal data if a data subject lives outside the USA or Canada is Facebook Ireland Ltd, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland.

Each time one of the individual pages of this website is accessed, which is operated by the controller and on which a Facebook component (Facebook plug-in) has been integrated, the Internet browser on the person’s information technology system is automatically prompted by the respective Facebook component to download a representation of the corresponding Facebook component of Facebook. An overview of all Facebook plug-ins can be found at https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/?locale=en_DE. As part of this technical process, Facebook is informed about which specific subpage of our website is visited by the person concerned.

If the person concerned is logged on to Facebook at the same time, Facebook recognizes which specific subpage of our website the person concerned visits with every visit to our website by the person concerned and for the entire duration of the respective stay on our website. This information is collected by the Facebook component and assigned by Facebook to the respective Facebook account of the person concerned. If the person concerned clicks one of the Facebook buttons integrated on our website, for example, the “Like” button, or the person concerned makes a comment, Facebook assigns this information to the personal Facebook user account of the person concerned and stores this personal data.

Facebook receives information via the Facebook component that the person concerned has visited our website whenever the person concerned is logged on to Facebook at the same time as accessing our website; this happens regardless of whether the person concerned clicks on the Facebook component or not. If the person concerned does not want this information to be transmitted to Facebook, they can prevent it from being transmitted by logging out of their Facebook account before calling up our website.

The data policy published by Facebook, which is available at https://de-de.facebook.com/about/privacy/, provides information about the collection, processing and use of personal data by Facebook. It also explains what setting options Facebook offers to protect the privacy of the person concerned. In addition, various applications are available that make it possible to suppress data transmission to Facebook. Such applications can be used by the person concerned to suppress data transmission to Facebook.

9. Privacy Policy for the use of Jetpack for WordPress

The person responsible for processing has integrated Jetpack on this website. Jetpack is a WordPress plug-in which offers the operator of a website based on WordPress additional functions. Jetpack allows the website operator, among other things, an overview of the visitors to the site. The display of related articles and publications or the possibility of sharing content on the site also makes it possible to increase the number of visitors. In addition, security functions are integrated into Jetpack, so that a website using Jetpack is better protected against brute force attacks. Jetpack also optimizes and accelerates the loading of images integrated on the website.

The Jetpack plugin for WordPress is operated by Automattic Inc, 132 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA. The operating company uses the tracking technology of Quantcast Inc. 201 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA.

Jetpack places a cookie on the person’s information technology system. What cookies are has already been explained above. Each time one of the individual pages of this website is called up, which is operated by the person responsible for processing and on which a jetpack component has been integrated, the Internet browser on the information technology system of the person concerned is automatically caused by the respective jetpack component to transmit data to Automattic for analysis purposes. As part of this technical process, Automattic is informed about the data that is subsequently used to create an overview of Internet site visits. The data collected in this way are used to analyze the behavior of the data subject who has accessed the data controller’s website and are evaluated with the aim of optimizing the website. The data collected via the Jetpack component will not be used to identify the data subject without the prior express consent of the data subject. The data is also made available to Quantcast. Quantcast uses the data for the same purposes as Automattic.

The person concerned can prevent the setting of cookies by our website at any time, as already described above, by means of an appropriate setting of the Internet browser used and thus permanently object to the setting of cookies. Such a setting of the Internet browser used would also prevent Automattic/Quantcast from placing a cookie on the information technology system of the person concerned. In addition, cookies already set by Automattic can be deleted at any time via the Internet browser or other software programs.

Furthermore, the person concerned has the possibility to object to the collection of data generated by the Jetpack cookie and related to the use of this website as well as the processing of this data by Automattic/Quantcast and to prevent such collection. To do this, the person concerned must press the opt-out button under the link https://www.quantcast.com/opt-out/, which sets an opt-out cookie. The opt-out cookie set with the objection is stored on the information technology system used by the person concerned. If the cookies are deleted on the system of the person concerned after an objection, the person concerned must call up the link again and set a new opt-out cookie.

With the setting of the opt-out cookie, however, it is possible that the Internet pages of the data controller may no longer be fully usable by the data subject.

Automattic’s current privacy policy is available at https://automattic.com/privacy/ Quantcast’s current privacy policy is available at https://www.quantcast.com/privacy/

10. Legal basis of the processing

Art. 6 I lit. a DS-GMO serves our company as a legal basis for processing operations for which we obtain consent for a specific processing purpose. If the processing of personal data is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party, as is the case for example with processing operations necessary for the delivery of goods or the provision of other services or consideration, the processing is based on Art. 6 I lit. b DS-GMO. The same applies to such processing processes that are necessary to carry out pre-contractual measures, for example in cases of enquiries about our products or services. If our company is subject to a legal obligation which requires the processing of personal data, for example to fulfil tax obligations, the processing is based on Art. 6 I lit. c DS-GMO. In rare cases, the processing of personal data may become necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject or another natural person. This would be the case, for example, if a visitor were injured in our company and his name, age, health insurance data or other vital information had to be passed on to a doctor, a hospital or other third parties. The processing would then be based on Art. 6 I lit. d DS-GMO. Ultimately, processing operations could be based on Art. 6 I lit. f DS-GMO. Processing operations which are not covered by any of the aforementioned legal bases are based on this legal basis if processing is necessary to safeguard a legitimate interest of our prokect or a third party, provided that the interests, fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject do not prevail. Such processing procedures are permitted to us in particular because they have been specifically mentioned by the European legislator. In this respect, it took the view that a legitimate interest could be assumed if the person concerned is a customer of the person responsible (recital 47, second sentence, DS-GMO).

11. Legitimate interests in the processing pursued by the controller or a third party

If the processing of personal data is based on Article 6 I lit. f DS-GMO, it is in our legitimate interest to conduct our business for the well-being of all our employees.

12. Duration for which the personal data is stored

The criterion for the duration of the storage of personal data is the respective legal retention period. After the expiry of this period, the corresponding data will be routinely deleted, provided that it is no longer necessary for the fulfillment or initiation of the contract.

13. Legal or contractual provisions for the provision of personal data; necessity for the conclusion of the contract; obligation of the data subject to provide the personal data; possible consequences of failure to provide them

We inform you that the provision of personal data is partly required by law (e.g. tax regulations) or may also result from contractual regulations (e.g. information on the contractual partner). In some cases, it may be necessary for a contract to be concluded if a data subject provides us with personal data which must subsequently be processed by us. For example, the person concerned is obliged to provide us with personal data if our company enters into a contract with him/her. Failure to provide personal data would mean that the contract with the data subject could not be concluded. Prior to the provision of personal data by the data subject, the data subject must contact one of our employees. Our employee will inform the data subject on a case-by-case basis whether the provision of personal data is required by law or contract or required for the conclusion of the contract, whether there is an obligation to provide the personal data and what consequences the failure to provide the personal data would have.

14. Existence of automated decision making

As a responsible company, we do without automatic decision-making or profiling.