Processing operation: Management of subscriptions to the ECI newsletter
Data Controller: European Commission
Operational Data Controller: Unit SG.A.1 'Policy Priorities & Work Programme'
Record reference: DPR-EC-03928
1. Introduction
This privacy statement concerns the processing operation 'Management of subscriptions to the ECI newsletter' undertaken by Unit SG.A.1 'Policy Priorities & Work Programme' of the European Commission.
The European Citizen’s Initiative (herein also ‘ECIʼ) is a participatory democracy instrument that allows citizens to suggest concrete legal changes in any field where the European Commission (herein also the ‘Commissionʼ) has power to propose legislation. The legal framework applicable to this instrument is set out in Regulation (EU) 2019/788 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the European Citizens’ Initiative.
The Commission is committed to protect your personal data and to respect your privacy. The Commission collects and further processes personal data pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data.
This privacy statement explains the reason for the processing of your personal data, the way we collect, handle and ensure protection of all personal data provided, how that information is used and what rights you have in relation to your personal data. It also specifies the contact details of the responsible Data Controller with whom you may exercise your rights, the Data Protection Officer and the European Data Protection Supervisor.
2. Why and how do we process your personal data?
Unit SG.A.1 'Policy Priorities & Work Programme' of the European Commission collects and further processes your personal data so that you can receive its ECI newsletter.
Your data are processed on behalf of the operational controller Unit SG.A.1 'Policy Priorities & Work Programme' of the European Commission, using the application 'EU Newsroom' which is a news management system developed by the Commission and operated by the Communications Networks, Content and Technologies Directorate General [1].
Your personal data will not be used for an automated decision-making including profiling.
3. On what legal ground(s) do we process your personal data
You have subscribed to receive a European Commission newsletter on the European Citizens' initiative of the European Commission.
We process your personal data, because you have given your consent to the processing of your personal data for the purpose of receiving the requested information.
In such case processing is thus lawful according to Article 5(1)(d)of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, which specifies as follows:
'(t)he data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes'.
4. Which personal data do we collect and further process?
In order to carry out this processing operation Unit SG.A.1 'Policy Priorities & Work Programme' of the European Commission collects the following categories of personal data (see subscription form: https://citizens-initiative.europa.eu/newsletter/subscribe_en):
- Your email address and your preferred language, which are needed to ensure the delivery of the service to you as a subscriber.
Your subscription creates/updates your user profile on the Newsroom website. In your profile, you can provide additional personal data (title, first name, last name, country of residence, sector) and subscribe to other newsletters. The additional personal data you indicate can provide you with a more personalised experience (i.e. better targeting the content of the information).
5. How long do we keep your personal data?
Unit SG.DSG1.A.1 'Policy Priorities & Work Programme' of the European Commission only keeps your personal data for the time necessary to fulfil the purpose of collection, namely until you communicate your decision to delete your profile.
You can withdraw your consent to receive the ECI newsletter at any point by using the link included in the footer, at the bottom of each newsletter we send you. Your user profile is not automatically deleted in such case, given that you may have subscribed to other newsletters on Newsroom.
To delete your user profile, please use the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/ecif/logout.cfm
The Newsroom keeps only the current state of data. No history is registered. Each change of the user profile replaces instantly all data in the Newsroom. This includes also cancelling the user profile, this change is instant as well and there are no means to restore it.
Personal data will be retained for a period of five years after the last interaction of the subject with the 'EU Newsroom' Commission news management system.
6. How do we protect and safeguard your personal data?
All personal data in electronic format (e-mails, documents, databases, uploaded batches of data, etc.) are stored on the servers of the European Commission. All processing operations are carried out pursuant to the Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2017/46 of 10 January 2017 on the security of communication and information systems in the European Commission.
In order to protect your personal data, the Commission has put in place a number of technical and organisational measures. Technical measures include appropriate actions to address online security, risk of data loss, alteration of data or unauthorised access, taking into consideration the risk presented by the processing and the nature of the personal data being processed. Organisational measures include restricting access to the personal data solely to authorised persons with a legitimate need to know for the purposes of this processing operation.
7. Who has access to your personal data and to whom is it disclosed?
Access to your personal data is provided to the Commission authorised staff members responsible for carrying out this processing operation and to other authorised Commission staff according to the “need to know” principle. Such staff abide by statutory, and when required,
The information we collect will not be given to any third party, except to the extent and for the purpose we may be required to do so by law.
8. What are your rights and how can you exercise them?
You have specific rights as a ‘data subject’ under Chapter III (Articles 14-25) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, in particular the right to access your personal data and to rectify them in case your personal data are inaccurate or incomplete. You have the right to erase your personal data, to restrict the processing of your personal data, to object to the processing, and the right to data portability.
You have consented to provide your personal data to Unit SG.DSG1.A.1 'Policy Priorities & Work Programme' of the European Commission for the present processing operation. You can withdraw your consent at any time by notifying the Data Controller. The withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of the processing carried out before you have withdrawn the consent.
You can verify which personal data is stored on your behalf, have it modified, respectively corrected or deleted, by accessing your user profile with your email address: https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/ecif/logout.cfm
You can also withdraw your consent to receive the newsletter at any point by using the link included in the footer, at the bottom of each newsletter we send you. Your user profile is not automatically deleted in such case, given that you may have subscribed to other newsletters on Newsroom. To delete your user profile, please use the link provided above.
Each change of the user profile introduced through the two channels above changes instantly your data in the Newsroom. This includes deleting your user profile.
You can exercise your rights by contacting the Data Controller, or in case of conflict the Data Protection Officer. If necessary, you can also address the European Data Protection Supervisor. Their contact information is given under Heading 9 below. Where you wish to exercise your rights please provide their description (i.e. their Record reference(s) as specified under Heading 10 below) in your request.
Your request submitted through this channel and concerning the exercise of your rights will be handled within one month upon receipt of the request.
9. Contact information
- The Data Controller
If you would like to exercise your rights under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, or if you have comments, questions or concerns, or if you would like to submit a complaint regarding the collection and use of your personal data, please contact the Operational Data Controller, using the following contact information:
European Commission
Secretariat General
Directorate A 'Strategy, Better Regulation & Corporate Governance'
Unit A.1 'Policy Priorities & Work Programme'
B – 1049 Brussels
Tel. +32 2 29 92165
E-mail: SG-ECI-mailing@ec.europa.eu
- The Data Protection Officer (DPO) of the Commission
You may contact the Data Protection Officer data-protection-officer@ec.europa.eu with regard to issues related to the processing of your personal data under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.
- The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS)
You have the right to have recourse (i.e. you can lodge a complaint) to the European Data Protection Supervisor (edps@edps.europa.eu) if you consider that your rights under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 have been infringed as a result of the processing of your personal data by the Data Controller.
10. Where to find more detailed information?
The Commission Data Protection Officer (DPO) publishes the register of all processing operations on personal data by the Commission, which have been documented and notified to him. You may access the register via the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/about-european-commission/service-standards-and-principles/transparency/data-processing-register_en.
This specific processing operation has been included in the DPO’s public register with the following Record reference: DPR-EC-03928.
Further technical information on the functioning of the Newsroom application is included in the Record DPR-EC-00841 - on Newsroom on Digital Single Market web site.
General information on personal data protection in the context of the ECI implementation can be found at: https://citizens-initiative.europa.eu/how-it-works/data-protection_en
[1] See record DPR-EC-00841 ‘Newsroom on Digital Single Market web site on: https://ec.europa.eu/dpo-register/detail/DPR-EC-00841.
