This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, store, use and disclose the following types of personal data:

• Participant dataconcerning our website visitors who visit or engage with our website, chat rooms or other similar forums, online ads and content, emails or other communications under our control.
• Partner dataconcerning sponsors and association societies and their representatives who cooperate with WICH, Inc. in organizing, promoting and executing WICH-related events.

 

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully and make sure that you fully understand and agree to it. This implies that you agree that your contact details (name, institution, job position, country and email) may be used for the purpose of providing services or contacting you in relation to events or service-related questions. You are not legally required to provide us with any personal data, and may do so at your own free will. If you do not wish to provide us with your personal data, or to have it processed by us or any of our Partners, or Service Providers, please avoid any interaction with us or any use of our Services.

1. Data Collection

We process data regarding our Participants and Partners. Such data is typically collected and generated through automatic means, directly from you, through your interaction with us or our Services or third-party services, analytics tools, and events we organize or take part in.

Participant’s data:

• Participant account information: registration number, e-mail address, year of birth, and hashed password or other information used for authentication and access control (if applicable). Speakers may also provide their pictures.
• Participant contact information: full name, phone number, address, and company/ organization name.
• Participant registration information: educational, employment and professional background; and documentation or proof of your professional status.
• Participants photo image: personal photo image of participants.
• Other information: If you are a speaker or a lecturer, additional information may be processed such as the content of your lecture. You may also be recorded during the event in which you participate.

Partner’s Data:

• Partner contact information:name, title, company, e-mail address, phone number, and additional information submitted by the Partner and/or or their organization.

• Partner organization information: company name and affiliation, and address.

Additional Data collected across Participants and Partners

• Direct interactions and communications with us: this information usually include correspondence with us, surveys, and other information you provide to us.
• Payment information: this information is relevant for the payment we collect in the provision of our Services. It may consist of credit card or bank account number, IBAN, SWIFT code and payment preferences. Supplemental documentation may be required according to the Service provided. To the extent that any of the foregoing solely relates to a non-human entity, we will not regard it as personal data, and this Privacy Policy will not apply to it. We use Stripe, Inc., a financial services company, to accept payments on line. Stripe’s privacy policy is available at https://stripe.com/privacy. Please review it carefully. 
• Conference recordings and photographs: Video and sound recording and still photography carried out during conference, including but not limited to crowd shots, group videos and photographs, and video and still photography may include attendees, speakers, and sponsors’ images.

2. Data Uses

We do not sell your personal information. We use your data for the following purposes:

• To facilitate, operate, activate, and provide our Services, including determining your initial and continued eligibility to use our Services.
• To authenticate your identity and allow you to access and use our Services.
• To process your activities such as event registration, abstract submission, attendance and accreditations.
• To provide you with customer care, assistance and technical support services;
• To contact you with general or personalized service-related messages, or with promotional messages, in accordance with Section 6 below, and to facilitate, sponsor and offer certain events and promotions.
• To create aggregated statistical data, inferred non-personal data, or anonymized or pseudonymized data (rendered non-personal), which we may use to provide and improve our respective services, or for any other purpose (such as estimating and reporting total audience size and traffic).

• We may make public use of personal photo image of participants at conferences/events.

• Conference recordings may be broadcasted online on the Internet and may be available on certain internet sites after the end of each Congress. In addition, video and sound recording and still photography carried out during congresses, including but not limited to crowd shots, group videos and photographs, and video and still photography may include attendees, speakers, and sponsors’ images. All these may be used across our programs, applications and on print literature of our events, including for marketing and commercial purposes.

3. Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as it is reasonably necessary to provide our Services. We will not be obligated to retain your personal data for any particular period, and we are free to securely delete it or restrict access to it for any reason and at any time, with or without notice to you.

4. Data Sharing

Legal Compliance: In exceptional circumstances, we may disclose or allow government and law enforcement officials access to your personal data, in response to a subpoena, search warrant or court order (or similar requirement), or in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, with or without notice to you. Such disclosure or access may occur if we believe in good faith that: (a) we are legally compelled to do so; (b) disclosure is appropriate in connection with efforts to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding actual or suspected illegal activity, or other wrongdoing; or (c) such disclosure is required to protect our legitimate business interests, including the security or integrity of our products and Services.

 

Third-Party Websites and Services: Our Services may include links to third-party websites, and integrations with third-party services. Such websites and third-party services, and any information you process, submit, transmit or otherwise use with such websites and third-party services, are governed by such third-party’s terms and privacy practices and policies, and not by this Privacy Policy.

 

Sharing Data with other Participants: Registration and participation in our Events is only allowed for identified Participants (i.e., no anonymous participation is allowed). By participating in any of these Events you are required to identify yourself to us and to the other Participants, by name and country of origin or company. We may make public use of personal photo image of participants. These details will be visible to other registered attendees in both physical and online events.

 

Protecting Rights and Safety: We may share personal data with others if we believe in good faith that this will help protect the rights, property or personal safety of Kenes, any of our Partners, their representatives, our Participants, or any members of the general public.

5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our Service Providers use cookies and other technologies for performance, tracking, analytics, personalization purposes and in order to provide you with a better experience.

 

Cookies: cookies are small text files that are stored through the browser on your computer or mobile device (for example, Google Chrome or Safari) when you visit a website. Some cookies are removed when you close your browser session – these are the “Session Cookies”. Some last for longer periods and are called “Persistent Cookies”. We use both types of cookies to facilitate the use of the Services’ features and tools. You can manage your cookies preferences, including whether or not to accept them and how to remove them, through your browser settings. Please bear in mind that disabling cookies may complicate or even prevent you from using the Services.

 

Google Analytics: we use Google Analytics to collect information about the use of our Services. Google Analytics collects information such as how often you visit the Services, which pages you visited when they do so, and which other sites they used prior to coming to our Services. We do not merge the information collected through the use of Google Analytics with personally identifiable data. Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to and use of the Services is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Service and the Google Privacy Policy. You can learn more about how Google collects and processes data specifically in connection with Google Analytics here. Further information about your option to opt-out of these analytics services is available here.

6. Communications

We engage in service and promotional communications, through e-mail.

 

Service Communications: We may contact you with important information regarding our Services. For example, we may send you communications regarding billing issues, payment issues, login attempts or password reset instructions, etc. Our Partners may also use our Services to send the relevant Participants, messages and other updates regarding your use of the Services.

 

Notifications and Promotional Communications: We may also notify you about new features, events, webinars, special opportunities or any other information we think you will find valuable. We may provide such notices through e-mail.

7. Data Security

We and our hosting services implement systems, applications and procedures to secure your personal data, to minimize the risks of theft, damage, loss of information, or unauthorized access or use of information. When personal information is transferred to us over the Internet, we encrypt it using Transfer Layer Security (TLS) encryption technology or similar technology. These measures provide sound industry-standard security, however, although we make efforts to protect your privacy and data, we cannot and do not guarantee the absolute protection and security of any personal data stored with us or with any third-parties.

8. Data Subject Rights

Individuals have rights concerning their personal data any applicable law, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). such rights include the right to request access, rectification or erasure of your personal data held with us, or to restrict or object to such personal data’s processing, or to port such personal data, or the right to equal services and prices (each to the extent available to you under the laws which apply to you).

Please also note that we may require additional information, including certain personal data, in order to authenticate and process your request. Such additional information may be then retained by us for legal purposes (e.g., as proof of the identity of the person submitting the request).

9. Additional Information and Contact Details

 

Our Services are not designed to attract children under the age of 16: We do not knowingly collect personal data from children and do not wish to do so.

 

Updates and Amendments: We may update and amend this Privacy Policy from time to time by posting an amended version on our Services. The amended version will be effective as of the date it is published.

External Links: While our Services may contain links to other websites or services, we are not responsible for their privacy practices. We encourage you to pay attention when you leave our Services for the website or application of such third-parties, and to read the privacy policies of each and every website and service you visit. This Privacy Policy applies only to our Services.

 

Date: December 17, 2024