Privacy Policy

Organisational structure of the Zukunftsorte Business Office

The Zukunftsorte Business Office is a project of the State of Berlin’s Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises. The Zukunftsorte Business Office’s operating company is the state-run WISTA Management GmbH. As the umbrella company, the privacy policy of WISTA Management GmbH also applies to the content made available by the Zukunftsorte Business Office.

Privacy Policy

We are grateful for your interest in our company. To the management of WISTA Management GmbH, protecting your data and privacy is a high priority. Using the WISTA Management GmbH websites is generally possible without disclosing any personal data. However, when you, the data subject, wish to use a more specific service of our website, processing personal data might be necessary. Whenever it is necessary to process personal data without a legal basis for the processing, we generally obtain consent from the data subject.

Personal data, including a data subject’s name, address, email, or phone number, is processed in strict accordance with European data protection regulation and the national data protection laws. By way of this privacy policy statement, our company aims at informing the general public about the nature, scope, and purpose of the personal data that we collect, use, and process. Furthermore, the privacy policy’s purpose is to inform data subjects about their rights.

WISTA Management GmbH, as the data controller, has implemented numerous technical and organisational measures to ensure seamless protection of the personal data processed on this website. However, data transmission via the internet can be prone to security gaps and absolute security cannot be guaranteed. For this reason, data subjects have the choice of sharing their personal data with us through other means, for example, by telephone.

1. Glossary

WISTA Management GmbH’s privacy policy is based on the terminology used by the European legislator upon adopting the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Our privacy policy aims at using plain and clear language for the benefit of our customers and business partners. We facilitate this by explaining the terminology used in the following.

In this privacy policy, we use the following terms:

a) Personal data

Personal data are any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier, or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.

b) Data subject

A data subject is any identified or identifiable natural person whose personal data are processed by the data controller.

c) Processing

Processing means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction.

d) Restriction of processing

Restriction of processing means the marking of stored personal data with the aim of limiting their processing in the future.

e) Profiling

Profiling means any form of automated processing of personal data consisting of the use of personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyse or predict aspects concerning that natural person’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behaviour, location or movements.

f) Pseudonomisation

Pseudonymisation means the processing of personal data in such a manner that the personal data can no longer be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, provided that such additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organisational measures to ensure that the personal data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person.

g) Controller

Controller means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by Union or Member State law, the controller or the specific criteria for its nomination may be provided for by Union or Member State law.

h) Processor

Processor means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller.

i) Recipient

Recipient means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or another body, to which the personal data are disclosed, whether a third party or not. However, public authorities which may receive personal data in the framework of a particular inquiry in accordance with Union or Member State law shall not be regarded as recipients; the processing of those data by those public authorities shall be in compliance with the applicable data protection rules according to the purposes of the processing.

j) Third party

Third party means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or body other than the data subject, controller, processor and persons who, under the direct authority of the controller or processor, are authorised to process personal data.

k) Consent

Consent of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her.

2. Name and address of the data controller

The person responsible in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations, other data protection laws applicable in Member states of the European Union, and other provisions related to data protection is:

WISTA Management GmbH
Rudower Chaussee 17
12489 Berlin
Deutschland

Phone: +49 30 6392-2200
Email: info@wista.de
Website: www.wista.de

3. Name and address of the Data Protection Officer

You can contact our data protection officer at the above address or at the following e-mail address:

Email: datenschutz@wista.de

Every person concerned can contact our data protection officer directly at any time with all questions and suggestions concerning data protection.

4. Cookies

WISTA Management GmbH’s website uses cookies. Cookies are text files downloaded and saved by your browser to your computer system.

Many websites and servers use cookies. Many cookies contain a so-called Cookie ID. A Cookie ID is a cookie’s unique identifier. It consists of a sequence of characters used by websites and servers to identify the specific browser in which the cookie was stored. This allows visited websites and servers to distinguish the individual browser used by a data subject from other browsers using other cookies. A specific browser can be recognised and identified based on the unique Cookie ID.

By using cookies, WISTA Management GmbH can provide users of this website with user-friendly services, which would not be possible without setting cookies.

Using cookies lets us optimise the information and services of our website to the user’s benefit. Cookies enable us, as mentioned above, to recognise visitors of our website. The purpose of this recognition is to make using our website easier for our users. Users of website that use cookies, for example, do not have to enter their log-in data upon every visit to this website, because they are saved by the website in a cookie that is saved to the user’s computer system. Another example is a cookie used for an online shop’s shopping basket. By saving a cookie, the online shop remembers the items the user put in the virtual shopping basket.

The data subject can prevent the setting of any cookies by our website at any time by changing the settings in his or her web browser and permanently deny the setting of cookies. Moreover, previously set cookies can be deleted using a web browser or other software. This is possible in all common web browsers. When a data subject deactivates the setting of cookies in his or her internet browser, it is possible that not all functions of our website are available in full.

5. Analysis tools and advertising

Matomo (formerly Piwik)

This website uses the open source web analysis service Matomo. Matomo uses so-called “cookies”. These are text files that are stored on your computer and that enable an analysis of your use of the website. For this purpose, the information generated by the cookie about the use of this website is stored on our server. The IP address is anonymized before being saved.

Matomo cookies remain on your device until you delete them.

Matomo cookies are stored on the basis of Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the anonymized analysis of user behavior in order to optimize both its website and its advertising.

The information generated by the cookie about the use of this website will not be passed on to third parties. You can prevent the storage of cookies by setting your browser software accordingly; however, we would like to point out that in this case you may not be able to use all functions of this website to their full extent.

If you do not agree to the storage and use of your data, you can deactivate the storage and use here. In this case, an opt-out cookie is stored in your browser, which prevents Matomo from storing usage data. If you delete your cookies, the Matomo opt-out cookie will also be deleted. The opt-out must be reactivated when you visit our website again.

6. Collection of general data and information

The website of WISTA Management GmbH collects a range of general data and information with each visit of the website by a data subject or automated system. These general data and information are stored in the server’s logfiles. The collected data can include the (1) used browser type and version, (2) the type of operating system used by the accessing system, (3) the website from which a user reached our website (the so-called Referrer), (5) the time and data of access to our website, (6) the Internet Protocol (IP) address, (7) the internet service provider of the accessing system, and (8) other similar data and information that serve to protect our information technology systems in the event of an attack.

When using these general data and information, WISTA Management GmbH does not draw any inferences about the data subject. Rather, this information is required to (1) correctly deliver the content of our website, (2) to optimise our website’s content and advertising, (3) to ensure the long-term functionality of our information technology systems and the technology our website is based on, and (4) to provide the necessary information to law enforcement agencies for the criminal investigation of a cyberattack. These anonymously collected data and information are analysed, on the one hand, for statistical purposes and, on the other hand, with the aim of increasing the level of data protection and data security in our company and to ensure the highest-possible level of protection for the personal data that we process. The anonymous data contained in the server’s logfiles are saved separately from all personal data collected from a data subject.

7. Contact options on the website

In accordance with legal regulation, the WISTA Management GmbH’s website provides information that make possible quick contact as well as direct communication with our company, which also includes a general email address. When a data subject contacts the data controller via email or a contact form, the personal data transmitted by the data subject are saved automatically. Such personal data, which are transmitted on voluntary basis from the data subject to the data controller, are saved for the purpose of processing and contacting the data subject. The personal data are not shared with third parties.

8. Integration of external services

The website of WISTA Management GmbH uses maps made available by the OpenStreetMap service, which are provided by the OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF) based on the Open Data Commons Open Database License (ODbL). To the best of our knowledge, OpenStreetMap uses user data exclusively for the purpose of deploying the map function and for temporarily storing the selected settings. These data can include, first and foremost, the user’s IP address and location data, which, however, are not collected without their consent (generally given based on the settings of their mobile devices). The data can be processed in the United States.

For more information, see the privacy policy of OpenStreetMap: wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy.

9. Routine erasure and blocking of personal data

The data controller can process and store a data subject’s personal data for the period required to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected or for the period granted by the European legislator or other legislators to which the controller is subject to. If the purpose for which the data was stored is no longer given, or a mandatory storage period required by the European legislator or other legislator is exceeded, personal data are routinely blocked or erased in accordance with legal regulation.

10. Rights of the data subject

a) Right of confirmation

Every data subject has the right granted by the European legislator to obtain from the controller confirmation as to whether personal data concerning him or her are being processed. When a data subject wishes to exercise this right of confirmation, he or she can contact an employee of the data controller at any time.

b) Right of information

Every data subject has the right granted by the European legislator to obtain free-of-charge information from the controller about his or her personal data and a copy of this information. Moreover, the European legislator grants data subjects access to the following information:
• The purpose of processing
• The categories of personal data that are processed
• The recipients or categories of recipients of personal data, especially recipients in a third country or international organisations
• the period for which the personal data will be stored, or if that is not possible, the criteria used to determine that period
• the existence of the right to request from the controller access to and rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing concerning the data subject or to object to processing
• the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority
• when personal data have not been obtained from the data subject: all available information on the data’s origin
• the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, referred to in Article 22 (1) and (4) GDPR and, at least in those cases, meaningful information about the logic involved as well as the significance and the envisaged consequences of such processing for the data subject

Moreover, the data subject has the right to obtain information whether personal data have been transferred to a third country or international organisation. Where applicable, the data subject also has the right to obtain information on suitable safeguards relating to the transferral.

When a data subject wishes to exercise this right of information, he or she can contact an employee of the data controller at any time.

c) Right of rectification

Each data subject has the right granted by the European legislator to obtain from the controller without undue delay the rectification of inaccurate personal data concerning him or her. The data subject also has the right, taking into account the purposes of the processing, to have incomplete personal data completed, including by means of providing a supplementary statement.

When a data subject wishes to exercise this right of rectification, he or she can contact an employee of the data controller at any time.

d) Right to erasure (right to be forgotten)

Each data subject has the right granted by the European legislator to obtain from the controller the erasure of personal data concerning him or her without undue delay, where one of the following grounds apply, as long as the processing is not necessary:

• The personal data are no longer required in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed.
• The data subject withdraws his or her consent to processing based on point (a) Article 6 (1) or point (a) of Article 9 (2) GDPR, and where there is no other legal ground for the processing.
• The data subject objects to the processing pursuant to Article 21 (1) GDPR and there are no overriding legitimate grounds for the processing, or the data subject objects to the processing pursuant to Article 21 (2) GDPR.
• The personal data have been unlawfully processed.
• The personal data must be erased for compliance with a legal obligation in Union or Member State law to which the controller is subject.
• The personal data have been collected in relation to the offer of information society services referred to in Article 8 (1) GDPR.

Where one of the above-mentioned grounds apply and a data subject wishes to exercise this right of erasure of personal data stored by WISTA Management GmbH, he or she can contact an employee of the data controller at any time. A WISTA Management GmbH employee will ensure that the request for erasure is complied with without undue delay.

Where WISTA Management GmbH has made the personal data public and our company is obliged as the controller pursuant to Article 17 (1) GDPR to erase the personal data, WISTA Management GmbH, taking into account the available technology and the cost of implementation, shall take reasonable steps, including technical measures, to inform controllers which are processing the personal data that the data subject has requested the erasure by such controllers of any links to, or copy or replication of, those personal data, to the extent that processing is unnecessary. A WISTA Management GmbH employee will make sure that necessary measures are taken on a case-by-case basis.

e) Right of restriction of processing

Every data subject has the right granted by the European legislator to obtain from the controller restriction of processing where one of the following requirements applies:

• The accuracy of the personal data is contested by the data subject, for a period enabling the controller to verify the accuracy of the personal data.
• The processing is unlawful, and the data subject opposes the erasure of the personal data and requests the restriction of their use instead.
• The controller no longer needs the personal data for the purposes of the processing, but they are required by the data subject for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims.
• The data subject has objected to processing pursuant to Article 21 (1) GDPR pending the verification whether the legitimate grounds of the controller override those of the data subject

Where one of the above-mentioned grounds apply and when a data subject wishes to exercise this right of restriction of personal data stored by WISTA Management GmbH, he or she can contact an employee of the data controller at any time. A WISTA Management GmbH employee will ensure the restriction of processing.

f) Right to data portability

Every data subject has the right granted by the European legislator to receive the personal data concerning him or her, which he or she has provided to a controller, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. He or she shall have the right to transmit those data to another controller without hindrance from the controller to which the personal data have been provided, as long as the processing is based on consent pursuant to point (a) of Article 6 (1) GDPR or point (a) of Article 9 (2) GDPR, or on a contract pursuant to point (b) of Article 6 (1) GDPR, and the processing is carried out by automated means, as long as the processing is not necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.

Furthermore, in exercising his or her right to data portability pursuant to Article 20 (1) GDPR, the data subject has the right to have personal data transmitted directly from one controller to another, where technically feasible, and where this does not adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others.

When a data subject wishes to exercise his or her right to data portability, he or her may contact a WISTA Management GmbH employee at any time.

g) Right to object

Every data subject has the right granted by the European legislator to object, on grounds relating to his or her particular situation, at any time, to the processing of personal data concerning him or her, which is based on point (e) or (f) of Article 6 (1) GDPR. This also applies to profiling based on these provisions.

In the case of objection, WISTA Management GmbH will cease processing of personal data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing, which override the interests, rights and freedoms of the data subject, or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Where WISTA Management GmbH processes personal data for direct marketing purposes, the data subject has the right to object at any time to the processing of personal data concerning him or her for such marketing. This applies to profiling to the extent that it is related to such direct marketing. When the data subject objects to the processing for direct marketing purposes towards WISTA Management GmbH, WISTA Management GmbH will no longer process the personal data for these purposes.

In addition, the data subject has the right, on grounds relating to his or her particular situation, to object to processing of personal data concerning him or her by WISTA Management GmbH for scientific or historical research purposes, or for statistical purposes pursuant to Article 89 (1) GDPR, unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.

When a data subject wishes to exercise this right to object, he or she can contact an employee of the data controller at any time. In addition, the data subject is free in the context of the use of information society services, and notwithstanding Directive 2005EC, to use his or her right to object by automated means using technical specifications.

h) Automated individual decision-making, including profiling

Every data subject has the right granted by the European legislator not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning him or her, or similarly significantly affects him or her, as long as the decision (1) is not necessary for entering into, or the performance of, a contract between the data subject and a data controller, or (2) is not authorised by Union or Member State law to which the controller is subject and which also lays down suitable measures to safeguard the data subject’s rights and freedoms and legitimate interests, or (3) is not based on the data subject’s explicit consent.

When the decision is (1) necessary for entering into, or the performance of, a contract between the data subject and a data controller, or (2) based on the data subject’s explicit consent, WISTA Management GmbH shall employ suitable measures to safeguard the data subject’s rights and freedoms and legitimate interests, at least the right to obtain human intervention on the part of the controller, to express his or her point of view and contest the decision.

When a data subject wishes to exercise his or her rights related to automated decision-making, he or she can contact an employee of the data controller at any time.

i) Right to withdraw consent

Every data subject has the right granted by the European legislator to withdraw his or her consent to processing of his or her personal data at any time.

When the data subject wishes to exercise his or her right to withdraw consent, he or she may contact an employee of the data controller at any time.

11. Data protection related to job applications or the job application process

The data controller collects and processes personal data of job applicants for the purpose of conducting the recruitment process. Processing can also be carried out electronically. This is particularly relevant when an applicant electronically submits the relevant application documents to the controller, for example, by email or by using a contact form on the website. When the data controller signs an employment contract with the applicant, all submitted data are stored for the purpose of processing the employment relationship in accordance with legal regulation. When the data controller does not sign an employment contract with the applicant, the job application documents are automatically erased two months after he or she was notified about the job application rejection unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for non-erasure. Legitimate ground can include, for example, the obligation of proof during legal procedures based on the General Act on Equal Treatment.

12. Legal basis for processing

Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR serves as the legal basis for processing for which we obtain consent for a specific processing purpose. When the processing of personal data is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party, as is the case, for example, when processing is necessary for the supply of goods or to provide any other service, the processing is based on Article 6 (1) lit. b GDPR. The same applies to such processing which is necessary for carrying out pre-contractual measures, for example, in the case of inquiries concerning our products or services. When our company is subject to a legal obligation by which processing of personal data is required, such as for the fulfilment of tax obligations, the processing is based on Art. 6 (1) lit. c GDPR. In rare cases, the processing of personal data can be necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person. This would be the case, for example, when a visitor is injured in our company and his name, age, health insurance data, or other vital data are passed on to a doctor, hospital, or other third party. Then the processing would be based on Art. 6 (1) lit. d GDPR. Finally, processing could be based on Article 6 (1) lit. f GDPR. This legal basis is used for processing which is not covered by any of the above-mentioned legal grounds if processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by our company or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data. Such processing is permissible because it has been specifically mentioned by the European legislator, who considered that a legitimate interest could be assumed if the data subject is a client of the controller (Recital 47 Sentence 2 GDPR).

13. The legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party

Where processing of personal data is based on Article 6 (1) lit. f GDPR, our legitimate interest is to carry out our business to the benefit of the well-being of our employees and shareholders.

14. Period for which personal data are stored

The criteria used to determine the period of storage of personal data is the respective statutory retention period. After that period expires, the relevant data are routinely deleted, as long as they are no longer necessary for the fulfilment of the contract or the initiation of a contract.

15. Provision of personal data as statutory or contractual requirement; requirement necessary to enter a contract; obligation of the data subject to provide the personal data; possible consequences of failure to provide such data

We duly inform you that the provision of personal data is partly required by law (e.g., tax regulations) or can also result from contractual provisions (e.g., information on the contractual partner). Sometimes it can be necessary to conclude a contract that the data subject provides us with personal data, which we must subsequently process. The data subject is, for example, obliged to provide us with personal data when our company signs a contract with him or her. Non-provision of personal data would prevent a contract with the data subject from being concluded. Ahead of the provision of personal data by the data subject, the data subject must contact one of our employees. Our employee will duly inform the data subject on a case-by-base basis whether the provision of the personal data is required by law or contract, or is necessary for the conclusion of the contract, whether there is an obligation to provide the personal data, and about the consequences of non-provision of the personal data.

16. The existence of automated decision-making

As a responsible company, we do not employ automatic decision-making or profiling.

This privacy policy was created by the Privacy Policy Generator of the DGD Deutsche Gesellschaft für Datenschutz GmbH, an external data protection officer based in Hanover, in cooperation with the Cologne-based IT and data protection lawyer Christian Solmecke. It was extended by the data controller according to the services offered on this website.