Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy
The Swiss Association for North American Studies takes data protection seriously; this privacy policy explains which data are strictly necessary, how we use them, and how you can correct or modify your information. We cannot guarantee the security of data transmission over the Internet; in particular, there is a risk of third-party access when transmitting data via email. Should any individual provisions or wordings of this disclaimer be or become invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected in terms of their content and validity. We believe that protecting your privacy is of the utmost importance. Consequently, compliance with strict statutory data protection regulations is a matter of course for us. We are firmly convinced that data protection begins with transparency. It is therefore important to us that you always know when and which of your personal data we store and how we use them, as well as how you can restrict or prevent such use.
What is personal data?
Personal data refers to all information regarding the personal and factual circumstances of an identified or identifiable individual. This includes information such as your (real) name, your address or other mailing address, and your phone number. Your email address is also included if it is linked to your name in such a way that you can be identified. Information that cannot be used to determine your identity is not included. Examples of such information include: any details that have no connection to your name, such as your gender, age, or educational background.
Use and disclosure of personal data
The Swiss Association for North American Studies is committed to protecting your privacy, uses your personal information only within the organization, and discloses it only to those companies that are involved in fulfilling the contracts concluded with you or otherwise in the provision of services. Otherwise, your personal information will not be disclosed to third parties unless you have expressly consented to such disclosure or we are required to disclose it, e.g., pursuant to a court order or an order from a government authority.
Contacting us
When you contact us (for example, via the contact form or by email), your information is stored for the purpose of processing your inquiry and in case follow-up questions arise.
Newsletter
When you subscribe to the newsletter, we store your IP address and the date of your subscription. This information is stored solely for the purpose of providing evidence in the event that a third party misuses an email address and subscribes to the newsletter without the rightful owner’s knowledge. You may revoke your consent to the storage of your data and email address, as well as their use for sending the newsletter, at any time. You can revoke your consent by clicking a link in the newsletters themselves or by sending a message to the contact address listed in the legal notice.
Use of cookies
We use cookies. Cookies are small text files that the web server stores in various locations in your computer’s browser and that can be used to identify you when you visit the website again. The cookies we use do not cause any damage to your computer and do not contain viruses. While you are using our website, we primarily store so-called session cookies on your computer’s hard drive, which are relevant only for your visit to our website. These cookies are used exclusively for connection management and navigation and enable you to browse our website in a user-friendly manner. For example, they remember certain settings during the session, saving you from having to re-enter information. Session cookies are deleted when you end your browser session. We also use long-term (persistent) cookies, which allow us to recognize your browser the next time you visit. Your browser offers you the option to display a warning message when a web server attempts to place a cookie on your computer. You can accept or reject cookies. Most browsers are set to automatically accept cookies. However, you can disable the storage of cookies or configure your browser to notify you when cookies are being sent. When you leave our website, you can delete cookies from your computer’s hard drive afterward—for example, if an internet connection problem prevented them from being automatically deleted. Of course, you can also view our websites without cookies. If you do not want us to recognize your computer, you can prevent cookies from being stored on your hard drive by selecting Do not accept cookies in your browser settings. For detailed instructions on how this works, please refer to the documentation provided by your browser manufacturer. However, if you do not accept cookies, this may result in limited functionality of our services.
Google Analytics
This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google Inc. (Google). Google Analytics uses so-called cookies, which are text files stored on your computer that enable an analysis of your use of the website. According to Google’s privacy policy and information provided by Google, these are text files stored on your computer that enable an analysis of your use of the website. For example, information collected includes details about your operating system, browser, IP address, the website you previously visited (referrer URL), and the date and time of your visit to our website. The information generated by these text files regarding your use of our website is then transmitted to a Google server in the United States and stored there. However, if IP anonymization is enabled on this website, Google will first truncate your IP address within member states of the European Union or in other signatory states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area. Only in exceptional cases will the full IP address be transmitted to a Google server in the United States and truncated there. On behalf of the operator of this website, Google will use this information to evaluate your use of the website, to compile reports on website activity, and to provide the website operator with other services related to website and Internet usage. To the extent required by law or where third parties process this data on Google’s behalf, Google will also disclose this information to such third parties. This data is processed in an anonymized or pseudonymized form. Google uses the DoubleClick DART cookie. Users can disable the use of the DART cookie by visiting the privacy policy of Google’s advertising network and content advertising network. The IP address transmitted by your browser as part of Google Analytics is not combined with other data held by Google. You can prevent the storage of cookies by adjusting your browser settings accordingly; however, please note that in this case, you may not be able to use all features of this website to their full extent. You can also prevent Google from collecting the data generated by the cookie and related to your use of the website (including your IP address), as well as from processing this data, by downloading and installing the browser plugin available at this link. You can find more information about Google Analytics directly on Google’s website: Data Collection Through the Use of Google Analytics
Access to information, right to object, questions
You may at any time request, free of charge and without delay, information regarding any data we may have stored about you or associated with a username assigned to you. We reserve the right to provide this information electronically. In addition, you have the right at any time to object to the continued use of your personal data in the future. We do not retain any modified or deleted information. In the event of a request for information or an objection, you must provide sufficient details to identify yourself and present valid proof that the information in question belongs to you. In such cases, or if you have any other questions regarding our data protection practices, please contact us (contact information can be found in the legal notice).
Right to make changes
We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Policy from time to time in accordance with applicable legal provisions.