PRIVACY POLICY
Version of 03/01/2023, read the version history to see what was changed recently.
We attach great importance to your trust in POM Limburg. Your privacy and the processing of your personal data are therefore of vital importance to us.
This Privacy Statement (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Privacy Statement’) applies, inter alia, to the personal data we process in the context of (i) our website www.pomlimburg.be (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Website’), and (ii) all relationships between POM Limburg and its contacts and partners. Among other things, this Privacy Statement contains information about the personal data that POM Limburg collects, as well as about how we use and process this personal data, for what purposes we do so and what your rights are with respect to your personal data and how you can contact us in this regard.
We wish to emphasise that we try to act in accordance with the ‘Privacy Legislation’, i.e. (i) the Belgian Act of 30 July 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data; (ii) Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (‘GDPR’); and (iii) other applicable data protection regulations, at all times.
(i) Visiting the Website; (ii) filling in the contact form; (iii) engaging in any communication with POM Limburg; (iv) making use of the services of POM Limburg; (v) registering for webinars or events; (vi) downloading e-books or magazines; and (vii) subscribing to the newsletter of POM Limburg imply your express consent (through the communication of your personal data or opt-in) to the Privacy Statement and thus to the way in which POM Limburg collects, uses and processes your personal data.
Please read this Privacy Statement in conjunction with the version history and the Cookie Policy of POM Limburg. In the version history, you can read what has changed in our privacy policy from the previous version of our Privacy Statement. Furthermore, you can read in the Cookie Policy what cookies the Website uses.
1. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA?
The personal data you provide through this Website will be processed by the data controller Provinciale Ontwikkelingsmaatschappij Limburg, also known as ‘POM Limburg’, a government body of the Flemish Region and the Flemish Community (the ‘Controller’), with its registered office at Corda Campus, building 6B, Kempische Steenweg 303/bus 101, 3500 Hasselt, Belgium. Contact information for POM Limburg is included in Section 12. Hereinafter, the Controller will be referred to as ‘POM Limburg’ or ‘we/us’.
2. HOW DOES POM LIMBURG COLLECT YOUR PERSONAL DATA?
This personal data is collected as set forth in Section 4, specifically during or in connection with, among other things:
- Visiting the Website and filling in forms on the Website (e.g. the contact form);
- Subscribing to POM Limburg’s newsletter and/or any online communication through the Website or otherwise;
- Participating in webinars and/or events;
- Visiting the offices of POM Limburg;
- The request for and provision of advice by POM Limburg;
- The implementation of the socio-economic programme of the province of Limburg;
The personal data collected by POM Limburg is thus explicitly and voluntarily provided by you (by communication or consent).
3. WHAT IS THE LEGAL BASIS FOR THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA?
Any processing shall take place based on one of the following legal bases, as appropriate and as specified in Section 4:
- You have given consent for the processing of your personal data for one or more specific purposes;
- The processing is necessary for the performance of the contract with POM Limburg, or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract;
- The processing is necessary for compliance with legal obligations to which POM Limburg is subject;
- The processing is necessary for the performance of a task in the public interest entrusted to POM Limburg:
- The processing is necessary to protect the legitimate interests pursued by POM Limburg or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms which require protection of personal data (in particular where you are a child):
- Sending our newsletter to active customers/partners;
- Use of strictly essential cookies on the Website (for more information, see Cookie Policy);
- Answering questions (whether or not submitted via the contact form on the Website).
In the event that the legitimate interest of POM Limburg is the legal basis for processing, as indicated in the tables under Section 4, POM Limburg will always:
- assess the necessity of the processing activity in relation to the purpose of the processing (proportionality test); and
- assess whether you, the data subject, could reasonably expect the specific processing to take place, so that we can assess the possible impact of the processing activity on your fundamental rights and freedoms.
In effect, POM Limburg always strives to minimise the impact on your fundamental rights and freedoms. We can guarantee that we will only process your personal data on the basis of a legitimate interest when we are absolutely certain that a balance can be struck between your rights and freedoms and our interests. If a balance cannot be guaranteed, POM Limburg:
- will no longer process your personal data in that specific situation (for that specific purpose); or
- will, where possible, invoke another legal basis for processing your personal data (e.g. consent).
4. FOR WHAT PURPOSES DOES POM LIMBURG PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL DATA?
1. General
Providing certain personal data is (sometimes) a prerequisite for access to certain services (e.g. to register to receive newsletters, to participate in certain activities and events). In this process, it is indicated which data are mandatory and which are optional.
2. Data processing in the context of the Website
| METHOD OF COLLECTION | PERSONAL DATA |
PURPOSES | LEGAL BASIS | RETENTION PERIOD |
| Filling in the contact form | First name, last name, email address, company, phone number, personal data provided voluntarily | Answering your questions | Explicit consent | Until you are satisfied with the answer to your question + 1 year for possible follow-up |
| Cookies on the Website (*) | See Cookie Policy | Optimising your browsing experience, personalising it and gaining insight into your use of our Website | Non-essential cookies: explicit consent
Strictly essential cookies: legitimate interest |
Depends on cookie type. Session cookies are deleted immediately after the browser session; other cookies are always placed for a specified, proportional period of time. |
| Subscribing to the newsletter | Email address, sector | Keeping you informed of our operation/activities at your request | Explicit consent
|
Until you withdraw your consent (possibly via unsubscribe link at bottom of newsletter)
|
| Subscribing to POMblad | First name, last name, company, position, phone number, email address, street, number, town, postcode | Providing you with POMblad at your request | Explicit consent | Until you withdraw your consent
(possibly via an email to info@pomlimburg.be) |
| Registering for events | First name, last name, company, email address, phone number, personal data provided voluntarily | Managing registrations for our events (confirmation, communication, follow-up, etc.) | Explicit consent | Up to 1 year after the event |
| Processing activities through other websites for which POM is a data controller | E.g. cookies or contact information provided voluntarily. | POM manages projects, some of which have their own websites. See policies there | Usually explicit consent or legitimate interest | Depends on type of personal data |
(*) For more information regarding the use of cookies, please refer to our Cookie Policy, available on our Website.
POM Limburg also automatically collects anonymous information regarding the use you make of the Website. For example, POM Limburg will automatically log which parts of the Website you visit, which web browser you use, and which website you visited when you accessed the Website. We cannot identify you from this data, but it allows us to compile statistics regarding the use of the Website and to optimise the functioning of the Website.
3. Other data processing by POM Limburg
| METHOD OF COLLECTION | PERSONAL DATA |
PURPOSES | LEGAL BASIS | RETENTION PERIOD |
| Communication with (future) partners | Last name, first name, email address, phone number of contact person | Correspondence by phone or email, whether or not to answer questions | Performance of your contract with POM Limburg, or to respond to your question/request prior to the conclusion of the contract | As long as you have a business relationship with POM Limburg + 1 year after its termination
1 year if no relationship has been established |
| Handling of your case / General services | Last name, first name, email address, phone number of contact person | POM Limburg is a public body and provides various services of public interest to companies, employees, local governments, knowledge institutions and civil society
|
Task of public interest / Explicit consent | As long as the case is open + 1 year after its conclusion |
| Sending newsletters | Email address | Through the sending of newsletters, invitations or through another form of online communication, POM Limburg will inform you of news about and activities related to our operation | Legitimate interest for active customers/partners
Explicit consent for non-customers/partners |
As long as you have not unsubscribed from the newsletter |
| Invoicing | Last name, first name, email address and phone number of contact person, company, address | Invoicing | Performance of your contract with POM Limburg | 7 years (= the statutory minimum retention period) |
| Job applications | Last name, first name, (mobile) phone number, email address, postcode, CV, cover letter, other personal data provided voluntarily | Selection and recruitment of potential new employees.
Only the data of successful candidates will be kept. This is also the period during which reserve candidates can be used. If you wish, you can request our full Applicant Privacy Policy from info@pomlimburg.be. |
Explicit consent | 1 year after the job application
|
| Photos and videos | Photos, videos | At events/activities, POM Limburg may make visual materials, such as photos and videos. We use these photos and videos for promotional purposes, to make our operation better known.
In addition, photos and videos may be provided to other local governments and partners, but this is done under strict conditions and only for purposes of our own promotion, to make our operation better known. |
General mood photos: Legitimate interest
Photos with clearly identifiable individuals: Explicit consent
|
Until you withdraw your consent or object (in case of legitimate interest) |
| Events | Last name, first name, email address, phone number of contact person, company/organisation | POM Limburg regularly organises events, such as consultations, study days, info sessions, networking events and fairs.
We use your personal data in this context to invite you to these activities, usually via your email address but possibly also in writing. |
Explicit consent / Legitimate interest | Up to 1 year after the event |
| Projects | Last name, first name, email address, phone number of contact person, company/organisation | POM Limburg is a partner in numerous (European) projects, in the context of which your personal data may be shared with the project partners. POM Limburg makes every reasonable effort to ensure that your data is obtained and processed in compliance with the Privacy Legislation.
|
Performance of your contract with POM Limburg | Up to 1 year after the end of the project |
5. TO WHOM DOES POM LIMBURG DISCLOSE YOUR PERSONAL DATA?
POM Limburg will not disclose your personal data to third parties except when necessary for the implementation of the purposes described above. In this context, your personal data may be passed on to other government agencies, project partners, and external IT providers.
If it is necessary for POM Limburg to transfer your personal data to third parties in this context, the third party in question is obliged to use your personal data in accordance with the provisions of this Privacy Statement and the data processing or transfer agreement that will be concluded with this party, if applicable, for the protection of your personal data.
As a regional government institution, POM Limburg may pass on your personal data to federal and Flemish government agencies or to local governments in the event that we are required to do so (e.g. for grant projects). POM Limburg is also a partner in numerous European projects, in the context of which your personal data may be shared with the project partners. Since they also belong to the European Union, they will also apply the GDPR.
However, POM Limburg may transfer your personal data to the competent authorities (i) when POM Limburg is required to do so by law or in the context of legal or future legal proceedings; and (ii) to safeguard and defend the rights of POM Limburg.
In all other cases, POM Limburg will not sell, rent or pass on your personal data to third parties, unless we (i) have obtained your permission to do so; and (ii) have concluded an agreement with the third party in question, which contains the necessary guarantees regarding confidentiality and privacy-compliant treatment of your personal data.
6. DOES POM LIMBURG TRANSFER YOUR PERSONAL DATA OUTSIDE THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA?
Where we transfer your personal data to a recipient located outside the European Economic Area (EEA), and where we determine that the level of protection afforded to your personal data in that country is not equivalent to the level of protection afforded within the EEA, we will take appropriate steps to achieve an equivalent level of protection. These steps may include:
(i) entering into an agreement with the recipient that includes contractual safeguards to protect your personal data (so-called ‘standard contractual clauses’); or
(ii) providing other appropriate safeguards through any other mechanism under the Privacy Legislation or any other regulations governing the processing of personal data.
7. HOW DOES POM LIMBURG RETAIN YOUR PERSONAL DATA?
Except where (i) the law, or (ii) compliance with another legal obligation requires or justifies a longer retention period, POM Limburg will only retain your personal data for the period required to achieve and fulfil the purposes as described in this Privacy Statement under Section 4.
8. WHAT RIGHTS DO YOU HAVE AND HOW CAN YOU EXERCISE THEM?
In connection with the processing of your personal data, you have the following privacy rights:
- Right of access to your personal data:
You always have the right to access and inspect your personal data processed by POM Limburg. If you request it, POM Limburg will provide you with a copy of your personal data; - Right to correct, complete or update your personal data:
You always have the right to have erroneous, incomplete, inappropriate or outdated personal data erased or rectified; - Right to erasure of your personal data:
In certain cases, you have the right to have personal data erased. This is the case, for example, when your data is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was originally collected, when your data is processed unlawfully, or when you withdraw your consent to the processing of your data and we cannot legitimately base further processing on any other legal basis. POM Limburg does point out to you in this context that certain services may no longer be accessible or can no longer be provided if you erase certain necessary personal data, or have it erased; - Right to restriction of processing of your personal data:
You have the right to restriction of processing of your personal data if:- You dispute the accuracy of your data, for a period that allows POM Limburg to verify the accuracy;
- The processing is unlawful and you oppose the erasure of your personal data and request the restriction of its use instead;
- POM Limburg no longer needs the personal data for the purposes of the processing, but you still need it for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims;
- You have objected to processing, pending the answer to whether the objection is justified.
- Right to portability of your personal data:
You have the right to receive the personal data processed by POM Limburg in a structured, commonly used and digital format, so that you can save it for personal (re)use, or to transmit this personal data directly to another controller. This right applies to the extent technically possible for the controller. - Right to object to the processing of your personal data:
- You always have the right to object to processing for reasons related to your specific situation;
- POM Limburg will immediately stop processing your personal data, unless there are compelling legitimate grounds for the processing that override your interests, rights and freedoms, or relate to the establishment, exercise or defence of a legal claim.
If there is reasonable doubt about your identity and it cannot be ascertained by any other means, POM Limburg has the right to request the front of your identity card for identification before responding to your question or request. However, POM Limburg expressly acknowledges that it will not systematically request your identity card in this context and that it will only use this proof to establish whether you are actually the data subject whose personal data is being processed. As soon as both parties are satisfied with the response to your question, POM Limburg will destroy the proof.
In case we request the front of your identity card, please always cover your photo. In this way, we do not process more data than is necessary for identification.
You may exercise the above rights by contacting us, in principle free of charge, except when the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive (as is the case, inter alia, with a repeated identical request). Contact information for POM Limburg is included in Section 12.
If and to the extent permitted under applicable law, POM Limburg may process your contact details for direct marketing purposes. If you no longer wish to receive newsletters, information or invitations about/from POM Limburg, you can contact us or you can unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the ‘unsubscribe’ button, as provided at the bottom of each email from POM Limburg.
9. HOW DO WE PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL DATA?
POM Limburg undertakes to take appropriate and reasonable physical, technological and organisational protection measures to prevent (i) unauthorised or unlawful access to your personal data, as well as (ii) loss, misuse or alteration of your personal data.
POM Limburg will store all personal data it has collected onsite and in the cloud with data centres in the EU.
10. PRIVACY STATEMENT UPDATE
POM Limburg may update this Privacy Statement at any time by posting a new version on the Website. We advise you to periodically review the Website and the relevant page on which the Privacy Statement appears to ensure that you are aware of any changes.
The most recent version of the Privacy Statement is always available on the Website. Each update, and the corresponding time of change, will be explained and displayed in the version history of the Privacy Statement, which can be consulted through the following link. If the way we process your personal data changes in a material way we will make reasonable efforts to notify you.
11. LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES
This Website may contain hyperlinks to third-party websites. When you click on one of these links, you will be taken to another website or Internet resource which, knowingly or through cookies or other technologies, might collect information about you. POM Limburg has no responsibility, liability or power of control over these third-party websites or Internet resources, nor over their collection, use and dissemination of your personal data. You should review the privacy policies of these other Websites and Internet resources yourself to determine whether they comply with the Privacy Legislation.
12. CONTACT POM LIMBURG
If you have any questions about the Privacy Statement or about the way POM Limburg collects, uses or processes your personal data, or if you wish to exercise your rights listed in Section 8, please contact us:
- By email: privacy@pomlimburg.be
- By post: POM Limburg, Corda Campus, gebouw 6B, Kempische Steenweg 303/bus 101, 3500 Hasselt, Belgium.
If you are dissatisfied with the way POM Limburg has handled your questions or comments, or if you have any complaints about the way POM Limburg collects, uses or processes your personal data, you have the right to file a complaint with the competent supervisory authority. This may be the supervisory authority of (i) your usual place of residence, (ii) your place of work, or (iii) the location of the alleged breach of the Privacy Legislation.
Contact details of the Belgian Data Protection Authority:
Data Protection Authority
Rue de la Presse 35, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Phone: +32 (0)2/ 274 48 00 / +32 (0)2 274 48 35
Email: contact@apd-gba.be
