Debunk Privacy Policy
 

1.) Name and contact details of the controller and of the company data protection officer
 

This privacy policy applies to data processing by the following controller:
Debunk EU, VšĮ

Email: info@debunk.org

(hereinafter “we”/”us”)

Data protection officer: not required
 

2.) Collection and retention of personal data as well as type and purpose of their use
 

When you access our website, www.debunk.org, the browser used on your terminal device automatically sends information to our website’s server. Such information is temporarily stored in a so-called log file. In the course of this procedure, the following information is captured and stored, without any action on your part, until it is automatically deleted:

• IP address of the requesting computer,

• date and time of access,

• name and URL of the retrieved file,

• website from which access takes place (referrer URL) and

• browser used and, where appropriate, your computer’s operating system and the name of your access provider.

The indicated data are processed by us for the following purposes:

• ensuring the establishment of a smooth connection to the website,

• ensuring comfortable use of our website,

• evaluating system security and stability, and other administrative purposes.

The legal basis for data processing is Art. 6 (1), sentence 1, point (f) of the GDPR. Our legitimate interest follows from the purposes of data collection listed above. In no case do we use the collected data for the purpose of drawing conclusions concerning your person.
When you visit our website, moreover, we use cookies and analytical services. Please refer to Sections 6 and 7 of this privacy policy for more information.

3.) Contact Form and email contact

Should you have questions of any kind, we offer you the possibility of contacting us using a form provided on the website. This requires providing a valid email address and your name so that we know who the source of the inquiry is and so that we can respond to it. Further information can be provided voluntarily.
The data processing for the purpose of contacting us takes place under Art. 6 (1), sentence 1, point (a) of the GDPR on the basis of your voluntarily given consent.
The personal data collected by us when using the contact form are automatically deleted after your inquiry has been handled.
 

4.) Registering for our newsletter
 

If you have expressly consented under Art. 6 (1), sentence 1, point (a) of the GDPR, we use your email address to regularly send you our newsletter. The provision of an email address is sufficient in order to receive the newsletter.
If you register for our email newsletter, we regularly send you information on our product offerings. The only information required to send the newsletter is your email address. The provision of any other data is voluntary, and such data are used so that we can address you personally. We use the so-called double opt-in method for sending the newsletter. This means that we send you an email newsletter only after you have expressly confirmed to us that you consent to the sending of newsletters. We then send you a confirmation email asking you to confirm, by clicking a provided link that you wish to receive newsletters in the future.
By activating the confirmation link, you grant us your consent to the use of your personal data pursuant to Art. 6 (1), sentence 1, point (a) of the GDPR. When you register for the newsletter, we retain your IP address as recorded by your Internet service provider (ISP) as well as the date and time of registration in order to allow us to track a possible misuse of your email address at a later time. The data collected by us when you register for the newsletter are used exclusively for promotional purposes by way of the newsletter.
You can cancel the newsletter at any time using the link provided in the newsletter. Alternatively, you are also free at any time to email your cancel request to info@debunk.org. Once you have cancelled, your email address is immediately deleted from our newsletter distribution list, unless you have expressly consented to another use of your data or we have reserved the right to use data in a different way that is permitted by law and about which we have informed you in this policy.
 

5.) Disclosure of data
 

Your personal data are not transmitted to third parties for any purposes other than those specified in the following.
We disclose your personal data to third parties only if:
you have granted your express consent to that under Art. 6 (1), sentence 1, point (a) of the GDPR,
the disclosure is necessary under Art. 6 (1), sentence 1, point (f) of the GDPR for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims and there is no reason to consider that you have an overriding legitimate interest in the nondisclosure of your data,
there is a legal obligation to disclose under Art. 6 (1), sentence 1, point (c) of the GDPR, and
disclosure is permitted by law and necessary for the execution of contractual relations with you under Art. 6 (1), sentence 1, point (b) of the GDPR.

Your data will be accessible only to Debunk.org staff and contractors and used within the network with trusted partners only specifically for the purposes of managing our activities, providing you with the services and running the platforms that you register for.

When you have messaged someone using the platform, your name and email address will be automatically shared with the individual and/or office you wrote to.
 

6.) Cookies

We use cookies on our website. Cookies are small files that your browser automatically generates that are stored on your terminal device (laptop, tablet, smartphone or similar) when you visit our website. Cookies are not harmful to your terminal device and contain no viruses, Trojan horses, or other malware.
The cookie contains information about the specific terminal device in use. However, this does not mean that we directly gain knowledge of your identity through cookies.
The purpose of cookies is, on the one hand, to make your use of our product offerings more pleasant. We use so-called session cookies to detect whether you have previously visited individual pages on our website. Such cookies are automatically deleted after you leave our website.
In order to optimise user-friendliness, we also use temporary cookies, which are stored on your terminal device for a specific defined time. If you visit our website again in order to make use of our services, the fact that you were there previously is automatically recognised, together with your entries and settings, thus avoiding the need to re-enter them.
On the other hand, we use cookies in order to track statistics on the use of our website and optimise our product offerings for you (see Section 7). When you return to our website, these cookies allow us to automatically recognise that you were there previously. Such cookies are automatically deleted after a defined time.
The data processed by cookies are necessary for the indicated purposes of our legitimate interests or those of third parties under Art. 6 (1), sentence 1, point (f) of the GDPR.
Most browsers accept cookies automatically. However, you can configure your browser not to retain cookies on your computer or to always have a prompt appear before a new cookie is stored. Fully deactivating cookies could, however, mean that you are unable to use all of our website’s functions.
 

7.) Analytical/tracking tools
 

The tracking measures that we use as indicated in the following are carried out on the basis of Art. 6 (1), sentence 1, point (f) of the GDPR. The intention behind our use of these tracking measures is to ensure that our website is designed in keeping with the users’ needs and can be continually optimised. On the other hand, we use tracking measures to track statistics on the use of our website and to evaluate the website for purposes of optimising our product offerings. These interests must be regarded as legitimate within the meaning of the above provision.
The respective data processing purposes and data categories can be inferred from the corresponding tracking tools.
 

Google Analytics
 

For purposes of needs-based design and continuous optimization of our pages, we use Google Analytics, a web analysis service of Google Inc. (https://www.google.com/intl/de/analytics/) (1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA; hereinafter “Google”). Pseudonymized use profiles are generated and cookies (see Section6) are used in this context. The information about your use of our website or our mobile apps generated by the cookie, such as

• Browser type/version,

• Operating system used,

• Referrer URL (previously visited page),

• Host name of accessing computer (IP address),

• Time of server query

The data is sent to a Google server in the USA and stored there. The information is used to analyse the use of our website or our mobile apps, to compile reports about website activities, and to perform other services related to website use and Internet use for purposes of market research and needs-based design of our website or our mobile apps. This information may also be sent to third parties if required by law or if third parties are processing this data on a contract basis. Under no circumstances will your IP address be linked to other Google data. IP addresses are anonymized to make association impossible (IP masking).
You can prevent cookies from being installed by disabling the corresponding setting in your browser software; however, we advise that in this case the full functionally of our website may not be able to be used.
You can also prevent the collection of the data generated by the cookie about your use of our website (including your IP address) and the processing of this data by Google by downloading and installing a browser add-on (https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de). As an alternative to the browser add-on, especially for browsers on mobile end devices, you can also prevent collection by Google Analytics. An opt-out cookie is placed that prevents the future collection of your data when visiting our website. The opt-out cookie is only active in this browser and only for our website and is stored on your device. If you delete cookies on this browser, you must replace the opt-out cookie. You can find further information about data privacy in relation to Google Analytics in Google Analytics Help (https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=de).

8)Social media plugins

Based on Art. 6 (1), sentence 1, point (f) of the GDPR, we use so-called social plugins (“Plugin”) of the social networks Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn on our website to make our firm better known by those means. The underlying promotional purpose must be regarded as a legitimate interest within the meaning of the GDPR. The responsibility for operating in conformity with data protection requirements must be borne by the respective providers. We integrate these Plugins using the so-called two-click method in order to offer our website visitors the best possible protection.
 

8.1) Facebook
 

Our website uses Plugins of the Facebook social network, which is operated by Facebook Inc., 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA (“Facebook”). The Plugins are identified by a Facebook logo or the words “social plugin of Facebook” or “Facebook Social Plugin”. Information about Facebook Plugins and what they look like can be found here: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins.
When you access a page of our website containing such a Plugin, your browser establishes a direct connection to Facebook’s servers. The contents of the Plugin are transmitted directly to your browser by Facebook and integrated into the website by your browser. Through integration of the Plugin, Facebook receives the information that your browser accessed the respective page of our website, even if you do not have a Facebook account or are not logged into Facebook at the time. That information (including your IP address) is directly transmitted by your browser to a Facebook server in the USA and is retained there.
If you are logged into Facebook, Facebook can directly assign the visit on our website to your Facebook account. When you interact with the Plugins, for example by clicking on the “LIKE” or “SHARE” button, the respective information is also transmitted directly to a Facebook server and is retained there. The information is also published on Facebook and displayed to your Facebook friends.
Facebook can use this information for the purpose of advertising, market research and designing Facebook pages in keeping with the needs of users. For that purpose, Facebook generates usage, interest and relationship profiles, e.g., to evaluate your use of our website with respect to the adverts displayed to you on Facebook, to inform other Facebook users of your activities on our website and to provide other services related to the use of Facebook.
If you do not want Facebook to assign the data collected via our website to your Facebook account, you must log out of Facebook before visiting our website.
Regarding the purpose and scope of data collection and the further processing and use of data by Facebook as well as your rights in this regard and the configuration options for protecting your privacy, please consult Facebook’s privacy notices (https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/).
 

8.2) Twitter
 

Plugins of the Twitter Inc. short message network (“Twitter”) are integrated into our website. The Twitter Plugins (tweet button) can be recognised by the Twitter logo on our website. Information about tweet buttons can be found here (https://about.twitter.com/resources/buttons).
When you access a page of our website containing such a Plugin, a direct connection between your browser and the Twitter server is established. In this way, Twitter receives the information that you have visited our website with your IP address. If you click on the Twitter “tweet button” while you are logged into your Twitter account, you can link the contents of our pages to your Twitter profile. Through this, Twitter can assign the visit on our pages to your user account. Please note that as provider of the pages we have no knowledge of the contents of the transmitted data or of their use by Twitter.
If you do not want Twitter to assign the visit on our pages, please log out of your Twitter user account. Further information can be found in the Twitter privacy policy (https://twitter.com/privacy).
 

8.3) Instagram
 

Our website also uses Plugins of Instagram, which is operated by Instagram LLC., 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA (“Instagram”).
The Plugins are identified by an Instagram logo, for example in the form of an “Instagram camera”.
When you access a page of our website containing such Plugin, your browser establishes a direct connection to Instagram’s servers. The contents of the Plugin are transmitted directly to your browser by Instagram and integrated into the website. Through this integration, Instagram receives the information that your browser accessed the respective page of our website, even if you do not have an Instagram profile or are not logged into Instagram at the time.
That information (including your IP address) is directly transmitted by your browser to an Instagram server in the USA and is retained there. If you are logged into Instagram, Instagram can directly assign the visit on our website to your Instagram account. When you interact with the Plugins, for example by clicking on the “Instagram” button, that information is also transmitted directly to an Instagram server and is retained there.
The information is also published in your Instagram account and displayed to your contacts there.
If you do not want Instagram to directly assign the data collected via our website to your Instagram account, you must log out of Instagram before visiting our website.
Further information on this can be found in the Instagram privacy policy (https://help.instagram.com/155833707900388 ).

8.4) Facebook Pixel
 

Our website utilizes the Facebook Pixel service of Facebook Inc., 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA (“Facebook”). This tool allows us to follow the actions of users after they are redirected to a provider's website by clicking on a Facebook advertisement. We are thus able to record the efficacy of Facebook advertisements for statistical and market research purposes. The collected data remain anonymous.

This means that we cannot see the personal data of any individual user. However, the collected data are saved and processed by Facebook. We are informing you on this matter according to our information at this time. Facebook is able to connect the data with your Facebook account and use the data for their own advertising purposes, in accordance with Facebook’s Data Use Policy found under: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/. Facebook Pixel also allows Facebook and its partners to show you advertisements on and outside of Facebook. In addition, a cookie will be saved onto your computer for these purposes.

Please click here if you would like to revoke your permission: https://www.facebook.com/ads/preferences/?entry_product=ad_settings_screen.

You must be logged in to Facebook in order to do this.

Consent for the use of the Facebook Pixel may only be given by users who are older than 13 years of age. If you are younger, we request that you ask your legal guardian for permission.
 

Data Security and Retention Period
 

Facebook implements both technical and organizational measures to secure your data. The data collected via Facebook Pixel is stored and processed by Facebook in such a way that it is associated with the user profile and used for targeted advertising. The retention period for the data is set by Facebook and you can learn more about it in Facebook’s privacy policy.
 

Your Rights and Preferences

As described in the Facebook Data Use Policy, you have the right to access, rectify, port, erase your data, and restrict or object to the processing of your data. You can manage your preferences in your Facebook settings.

8.5) TikTok Pixel
 

Our website employs the TikTok Pixel service provided by TikTok Inc., 10100 Venice Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232, USA (“TikTok”). The TikTok Pixel allows us to track users' actions after they click on a TikTok advertisement and are redirected to our website. This helps us measure the effectiveness of our TikTok advertisements for statistical and market research purposes. The data collected in this way is anonymous to us, meaning we do not have access to the personal data of individual users.

However, TikTok stores and processes the collected data. According to our knowledge, TikTok can link this data to your TikTok account and use it for TikTok’s own advertising purposes, in accordance with TikTok’s Privacy Policy found at: https://www.tiktok.com/legal/privacy-policy?lang=en. The TikTok Pixel also enables TikTok and its partners to show you advertisements both on and outside of TikTok.
 

Data Security and Retention Period
 

TikTok implements technical and organizational measures to secure your data. The data collected via TikTok Pixel is associated with your user profile and may be used for targeted advertising. The retention period for this data is determined by TikTok, and further details can be found in TikTok’s privacy policy.
 

Your Rights and Preferences
 

According to TikTok’s Privacy Policy, you have the right to access, rectify, port, erase your data, and restrict or object to the processing of your data. You can manage your advertising preferences in your TikTok settings or opt-out of targeted advertising via the settings on your device.
 

Consent
 

Consent for the use of the TikTok Pixel must be given by users who are aged 16 or older. If you are below this age, we request that you seek permission from your legal guardian.

If you wish to opt-out of TikTok’s collection of data via the Pixel, you may do so by adjusting your TikTok account settings or following the opt-out instructions provided in TikTok’s Privacy Policy.

​

9.) Rights of data subjects
 

You have the right:

• to obtain, pursuant to Art. 15 of the GDPR, information about your personal data that are being processed by us. In particular, you can request information about the purposes of the processing, the category of the personal data, the categories of recipients to which your data have been or will be disclosed, the envisaged storage time, the existence of the right to rectification, erasure, restriction of processing or objection, the existence of the right to lodge a complaint, the source of their [sic] data in the case of data not collected by us, and the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, and where applicable meaningful information about the particulars thereof;

• to obtain, pursuant to Art. 16 of the GDPR, without undue delay the rectification of inaccurate personal data stored by us or to have incomplete personal data completed;

• to obtain, pursuant to Art. 17 of the GDPR, the erasure of your personal data stored by us, if the processing is no longer necessary for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information, for compliance with a legal obligation, on the grounds of public interest or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims;

• to obtain, pursuant to Art. 18 of the GDPR, the restriction of processing of your personal data, if the accuracy of the data is contested by you, the processing is unlawful but you oppose their erasure and we no longer need the data but they are required by you for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or you have objected to processing pursuant to Art. 21 of the GDPR;

• to receive, pursuant to Art. 20 of the GDPR, your personal data that you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or to obtain transmission to another controller;

• to withdraw at any time, pursuant to Art. 7 (3) of the GDPR, your consent granted to us. This means that from that time on we are no longer allowed to continue the data processing based on that consent and

• to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority pursuant to Art. 77 of the GDPR. As a rule, you can do so with the supervisory authority in your habitual residence or place of work or where our firm has its registered office.
   

10.) Right to object
 

If your personal data are processed on the basis of legitimate interests pursuant to Art. 6 (1), sentence 1, point (f) of the GDPR, you have the right, pursuant to Art. 21 of the GDPR, to object to the processing of your personal data if there are grounds for doing so relating to your particular situation or the objection relates to direct marketing. In the latter case, you have a general right to object, which is implemented by us without specification of a particular situation.
Your right to withdraw or object may be exercised by sending an email to info@debunk.
 

11.) Data security
 

We apply appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data against accidental or deliberate manipulation, partial or complete loss, destruction or unauthorised third-party access. Our safety measures are continually improved in keeping with technological advances.
 

12.) Status of and changes in this privacy policy
 

This privacy policy is up to date as of September 2023.
Enhancements in our website and product offerings or changes in statutory or regulatory requirements can make it necessary to amend this privacy policy. You can always access and print out the current privacy statement that is in effect at any given time.