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Data Protection Declaration for the Website of the University of Potsdam

We process personal data that we collect when you visit our website under the applicable data protection laws, in particular the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the  Brandenburg State Data Protection Law (BbgDSG).

The responsible party in the context of GDPR and other national data protection laws of members states, as well as other data protection regulations, is: 

The University of Potsdam
represented by President Prof. Oliver Günther, Ph.D.

Address:
Am Neuen Palais 10
14469 Potsdam
Telefon +49 331 977-1220
Telefax +49 331 977-1089
buero.praesident@uni-potsdam.de

Purpose of the processing and legal basis

The Internet site serves to provide the public with information regarding the University of Potsdam. The legal basis for data processing related to visiting the site is provided by Section 6 subsection 1 sentence 1 letter e of the GDPR in conjunction with Section 3 subsection 7 of the Brandenburg Higher Education Act (BbgHG) and Section 5 subsection 1 of the Brandenburg State Data Protection Law (BbgDSG).If the University solicits consent (for example, a contact form) from affected persons for the collection of personal data, then Section 6 subsection 1 sentence 1 letter a GDPR serves as the legal basis.

Logging

Every time our website is accessed, the following data is stored in log files for the purposes of operational and data security as well as statistical purposes:

  • IP addresses,
  • Time at which the site was accessed,
  • UserAgent (browser and operating system),
  • The sites and content elements called up, and
  • Referrer URLs provided.

This data shall be stored for a maximum of seven days.
The University of Potsdam uses statistical analysis to improve our web presence. This process uses the aforementioned data in a way that anonymizes IP addresses and stores them for a maximum of 12 months.

Cookies

When you visit our website, “session cookies” are filed and stored on your computer. Cookies are small text files that serve to make Internet offerings more user friendly, more effective and more secure. Cookies do not cause any damage to your computer, nor do they contain any viruses. Session cookies are usually deleted automatically after you leave our website. You have the option of deactivating the saving of cookies by adjusting your browser’s settings. Please note that if you deactivate cookies you may not be able to use the full scope of all the functions on our website. 

We use the software Webalizer to conduct statistical analyses to improve our web presence. Our legitimate interest in data processing under Section 6 subsection 1 f GDPR lies in these purposes. The usage information collected in this manner are transmitted to our servers and saved with the IP address for the purposes of usage analysis. This information is not transmitted to external parties. 

Search function

Our websites use the Google search function. This is a service provided by Google LLC. (“Google”). The web browser calls up this resource. During this process, the browser transmits data to Google. For more information, please see Google’s data protection information (https://policies.google.com).

Contact form

The personal data that you provide in the contact form is only used for answering your query and is deleted once your question has been processed. Your data is not transmitted to external parties.

Social Media

The website of the University of Potsdam integrates links to various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, among others. The University of Potsdam’s central websites do not integrate data such as the “Like” button; instead, the links are meant exclusively to connect to the University’s external presence on the respective platform. No data relevant to data protection is saved.

Your rights

You have the right to withdraw your consent to the collection of personal data in the future, at any time and without reason, by writing to the

University of Potsdam
Am Neuen Palais 10
14469 Potsdam

or by email to presse@uni-potsdam.de

The revocation of your permission does not affect the legality of processing that has taken place with your permission up to the time of revocation.

Furthermore, you have the right to receive at no cost to you information about your saved personal data, its origins, receivers, the purpose and the duration of data processing. In addition, under certain requirements, you have the right to the rectification, the limitation of processing (i.e. blocking), the deletion and the right to data portability for your data.
For reasons that may arise from your particular situation, you may at any time file an appeal against the processing of your personal data as is done on the basis of Section 6 subsection 1 sentence 1 letter e or f GDPR.

 To exercise the rights identified above, please contact:

University of Potsdam
Department for Press and Public Relations
Am Neuen Palais 10
14469 Potsdam
Tel: +49 331 977-1474
presse@uni-potsdam.de

You can also request information from the Division of Human Resources and Legal Affairs. You can download the form for information requests from the Data Protection Officer’s website.

You can contact the University’s official Data Protection Officer if you have questions regarding data protection:

Dr. Marek Kneis
Am Neuen Palais 10
14469 Potsdam, Building 22, Room 1.14
Telephone +49 331 977-124409
Fax: +49 331 977-1297
datenschutz@uni-potsdam.de

If you believe that the processing of your personal data is not being done in a lawful way, then you have the right to submit a complaint to the responsible supervisory agency for data protection.

Objection to promotional emails

Third parties are not allowed to use contact data published in the website’s legal notice or comparable information, such as postal addresses, telephone and fax numbers, or email addresses to send information that has not been explicitly requested. We reserve the right to take legal action against senders of spam mail in cases which violate this prohibition.