Introduction
Data protection is a key concern for SIB. The purpose of this explanatory notice on data protection (hereinafter "Privacy Notice") is to explain the measures taken by SIB in terms of Personal Data processing with respect to the use of the website www.biomedit.ch (hereinafter "BioMedIT website"). This Privacy Notice is intended to help You understand how We may use the data you provide as a user (hereinafter “User” or “You”) of the BioMedIT website.

By accessing and using the BioMedIT website, You acknowledge that You have read, understood and accepted that You are subject to all of the conditions laid down in this Privacy Notice.

BioMedIT website owner and Data Controller
The BioMedIT Network initiative (hereinafter "BioMedIT") mandated by the Swiss federal government aims to provide a secure IT environment for the handling of sensitive data for research. SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (hereinafter "SIB" or “We”) is responsible for carrying out the mandate related to the BioMedIT initiative.

On behalf of SIB
Personalized Health Informatics Group (PHI) 
Elisabethenstrasse 43 CH-4051 Basel
dcc [at] sib.swiss

A group of SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, the PHI manages both the SPHN Data Coordination Center and the BioMedIT project.

While accessing and using the BioMedIT website, SIB is controller when processing Personal Data pursuant to and in accordance with the Federal Data Protection Act (FDPA) and, if applicable, the European Regulation EU 679/2016 (GDPR). Any Personal Data provided or otherwise collected while using the BioMedIT website is processed in compliance with the principles laid out by the above-mentioned regulations.

Personal data
Personal Data means any information concerning an identified or identifiable natural person. This concerns in particular information and information such as name, address or postal address, telephone number or email address, insofar as this contains an indication making it possible to identify the person. Personal Data that You communicate to BioMedIT website in the registration forms, the newsletter and when making contact are used exclusively for the processing of your requests (registration, request, etc.).

Your rights

• As a User, you have the following rights:
• The right to be informed about how we collect and use data;
• The right to access the data we hold on you;
• The right to correct any inaccurate or incomplete data;
• The right to have your data deleted;
• The right to restrict processing of your data;
• The right to obtain a copy of your data;
• The right to object to us using your data for a particular purpose;
• The right to remove consent for using your data;
• The right to object to automated decisions and profiling.

Depending on the applicable law, the above-mentioned rights may be subject to specific restriction.

Personal Data processing while accessing and using the BioMedIT website
If You only use the BioMedIT website for information purposes, without actively sharing any Personal Data (e.g. by filling in a form), We process Personal Data necessary for the display of the BioMedIT website on your device connected to the internet that You are using. These include:

• the IP address,
• the date and time of the request,
• the quantity of data transmitted,
• the type and version of the internet browser,
• the operating system used.

These log files are collected only for the sole purpose of administering the BioMedIT website, simplifying and improving its management and identifying and preventing unauthorized access.

Email contact
When You contact us by email, the information You provide is solely used to respond to your request and to address any additional questions. These Personal Data are: courtesy form, surname and first name, street, ZIP / city, email address, telephone number, data specific to the event and / or to the funding request, message / comments. The following Personal Data is also stored when your request is sent: IP address, date and time of registration.
We use Personal Data to interact with You and to respond to your requests regarding the BioMedIT website or any related information to BioMedIT projects You might have.

Participation in events
When You fill out the form to participate in events referenced on the BioMedIT website, the information You provide is used to respond to your request. These Personal Data are: first and last name, email address, postcode / city, message / comments, role, country, organization. The following Personal Data is also stored when the request is sent: the User's IP address, date and time of registration.

We use your Personal Data to interact with You and to respond to your requests regarding the BioMedIT website or any related information to BioMedIT projects You might have.

Newsletter
When subscribing to the newsletter, first and last name, e-mail address, IP address and date of registration of the person who made the request are recorded. This storage serves on one hand as proof only in the event that a third party has misused your e-mail address and has signed up to receive the newsletter without your knowledge and other hand to keep You apprised about BioMedIT activity, projects and events. You have, in any case, the possibility of cancelling the subscription to the newsletter, either through the link which appears in the newsletter, or by sending a message to the contact address indicated above.

Matomo
This website uses Matomo, an open-source software tool, to compile access statistics and to analyse general usage behaviour on the website. This information is used to compile aggregated and anonymous statistics in order to improve our services and to enhance user’s experience. Matomo runs exclusively on the SIB’s servers of our websites and no personal data is transmitted to Matomo or any other third party.

By default, Matomo is configured in such a way so that no personal data is collected. For example, when you visit our website, we may collect some data on your browsing experience such as your masked IP address (anonymized by removing the last two bytes), the web page you visited, when you visited and the website page you were redirected from.

The analytical reports generated by Matomo are only accessible by authorized SIB employees or members, or by duly authorized external consultants, who may be required to analyse, develop and/or regularly maintain certain sites. You can adjust your browser settings to disable cookies. This might, however, mean that you are not able to use all of the website’s functions.

Access to Personal Data by third-parties
Personal Data is solely handled and stored within the SIB in Switzerland. We will not sell, nor lease, market and/or lend Personal Data to third-parties through the BioMedIT website. In no event shall Personal Data be transmitted to third-parties unless required by law or by an administrative or judicial authority.
With the exception of data disclosed to comply with legal requirements, Personal Data may also be disclosed to the following categories of subcontractors, acting on behalf of SIB:

• Web agency that hosts and maintains the BioMedIT website, besides organizing, scheduling, building and executing any task related to the BioMedIT website.

Data retention
Personal data processed by SIB will be retained only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined above in this Privacy Notice. This will generally (but not in all cases) be for the duration of time where you utilise our services, to comply with our legal obligations or to protect SIB’s rights. When determining the relevant retention periods for your personal data, we will take into account factors including:

• our contractual obligations and rights in relation to the personal data involved;
• legal obligation(s) under applicable law to retain data for a certain period of time;
• statute of limitations under applicable law(s) which is the period during which contractual claims could be brought, being 10 years in Switzerland;
• our legitimate interests where we have carried out balancing tests;
• (potential) disputes; and
• guidelines issued by relevant data protection authorities.

Security
We have implemented standard security measures (of a technical and organizational nature) in accordance with standard regulations, taking into account the risks involved in protecting information from any accidental or intentional manipulation, loss, destruction or communication, or from all non-authorized access.

Data Protection Officer and European representative
If you have any questions or a request in relation to the processing of your personal data by SIB, you can contact Us at the following address: dcc [at] sib.swiss. You can also contact SIB’s Data Protection Officer (DPO) dpo [at] sib.swiss.

To comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679) we have appointed a European representative. If you wish to contact them, their details are as follows:

Bird & Bird GDPR Representative Services SRL
Avenue Louise 235
1050 Bruxelles
Belgium
Eurepresentative.SIB [at] twobirds.com

Reservation of modifications
This Privacy Notice may require periodic updates, including as part of the evolving regulatory framework for data protection. We invite You to check this page regularly to make sure You have read the latest version.

Last update: 11 July 2023

Place of jurisdiction and applicable law
The legal relationship between You and the Website owner with regard to accessing and using the BioMedIT website and any resource connected to it is governed by Swiss substantive law, excluding international private law regulations. Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of, or in relation to, this Privacy Notice shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent Courts of the Canton of Vaud.

Effectively as of: 11 July 2023