This Privacy Policy informs how Global CTO Forum GmbH (hereinafter also –” Controller”,” Owner”,” we”, “us” or “our”) processes information and personal data on the website https://globalctoforum.org/ (hereinafter – Platform).
This website provides information about our company, our business, our alliances and third-party relationships, and our services. We strive to protect all personal information that we receive or generate. This Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy” or “Policy”) explains our data protection practices for our website visitors. This Privacy Policy also explains the nature of the personal information we collect, the means by which we collect it, the purposes for which we collect it, and how we use, process, protect, and share it.
This site is owned by Global CTO Forum GmbH and may be accessed in the United States and abroad. For data protection purposes, Global CTO Forum GmbH is the controller and, unless otherwise noted, is also the processor of data. Information collected may be retained and may be stored, processed, accessed, and used in jurisdictions whose privacy laws may be different and less protective than those of your home jurisdiction.
Please read this entire Privacy Policy before submitting information to this Platform. By accessing or using this Platform for any purpose and by submitting any of your personal information to us, you are consenting to the terms and conditions of this Policy and to our Terms of Use posted on this Platform. If you disagree with any part of this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Use, please do not use this Platform or any of our other services, and do not share any personal information with us.
Data Controller: Global CTO Forum GmbH, Holbeinstrasse 31, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland
Controller contact information:
e-mail address: info@globalctoforum.org; phone +41 (44) 505 14 82
Data Protection Officer contact information: support@globalctoforum.com
Personal Data (or Data) – Any information that directly, indirectly, or in connection with other information — including a personal identification number — allows for the identification or identifiability of a natural person.
Usage Data – Information collected automatically through this Platform (or third-party services employed in this Platform), which can include: the IP addresses or domain names of the computers utilized by the Users who use this Platform, the URI addresses (Uniform Resource Identifier), the time of the request, the method utilized to submit the request to the server, the size of the file received in response, the numerical code indicating the status of the server’s answer (successful outcome, error, etc.), the country of origin, the features of the browser and the operating system utilized by the User, the various time details per visit (e.g., the time spent on each page within the Platform) and the details about the path followed within the Platform with special reference to the sequence of pages visited, and other parameters about the device operating system and/or the User’s IT environment.
User – The individual using this Platform who, unless otherwise specified, coincides with the Data Subject (includes influencers, musicians and any other person using the Platform)
Data Subject – The natural person to whom the Personal Data refers.
Data Processor (or Data Supervisor) – The natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body which processes Personal Data on behalf of the Controller, as described in this privacy policy.
Data Controller (or Owner) – The natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of Personal Data, including the security measures concerning the operation and use of this Platform. The Data Controller, unless otherwise specified, is the Owner of this Platform.
GDPR – the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council 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.
Profile – the User’s dedicated account and environment when he/she has registered on a Platform.
This Platform – The means by which the Personal Data of the User is collected and processed.
Service – The service provided by this Platform as described in the relative terms (if available) and on this Platform.
This section explains generally the sources from which, and the means by which, we collect and process personal information.
We collect Personal Data when you register for an account when you use certain Services (including when you sign up for an account, create or share, and message or communicate with others), and when you visit certain pages on Platform. This can include information on or about the content you provide or about how you use our Services, such as the types of content you view or engage with, the people and groups you are connected to, and how you interact with them.
By registering with us, you acknowledge and agree that we may access and store your Personal Data anywhere in the world. If you registered with us through the “Connect with” LinkedIn option, you also acknowledge and agree that we may access and store information from your LinkedIn profile.
Personal Data and other details about you that you supply as part of the registration process or that are collected by Us when you use the Services are used to provide you with the Services and information as set out in our Terms of Use. We will not use that information for any purpose other than the Services.
If you contact us in relation to any of the Services (via email, telephone, post, or otherwise), We may collect and retain your contact details and your communication for the purpose of handling your query and keeping records of communications.
Your profile information for social networks you choose to connect to the Services. For example, your LinkedIn profile information may include your profile username and profile image. A specific location such as an address, a city, or a place if you choose to share this information. Your messages, posts, comments, images, advertising, and other material you curate on and upload to the Services; and information that is collected from the social media.
The personal information we collect varies by user, transaction, and purpose, but our primary purpose is the efficient and satisfactory conduct of our business and for related legal purposes.
Users are responsible for any third-party Personal Data obtained, published or shared through this Platform and confirm that they have the third party’s consent to provide the Data to the Owner.
The Data concerning the User is collected to allow the Owner to provide its Service, comply with its legal obligations, respond to enforcement requests, protect its rights and interests (or those of its Users or third parties), detect any malicious or fraudulent activity, as well as contacting the User and sending emails using the mailing list. Users who are uncertain about which Personal Data is mandatory are welcome to contact the Owner.
Generally, we collect the following data:
We collect the following categories of Personal data for the following activities:
Activity | Categories of Personal data |
Visiting the Platform | • Browsing data. • Data collected by the use of cookies when you consent to their use. |
Using cookies according to the Cookie Policy | • Browsing data. |
Contacting Global CTO Forum GmbH support teams | • Identification data (optional first name and last name). • Contact data (e-mail address). • Content of your request. |
Allowing the visitors and Users to exercise their data protection rights | • Identification data. • Contact data. • Content of the request. • Data necessary to reply to the request addressed to Global CTO Forum GmbH. |
Establishing statistics related to the performance of the Platform | • Aggregate data. • Browsing data. |
Complying with legal requests or managing litigation | • Data necessary to prove Global CTO Forum GmbH’s compliance to its obligations and/or manage legal proceedings. |
Creating a Profile | • Identification data (first name, last name, display name, profile picture, etc.). • Personal data collected and processed by third-party websites when you register with your third-party account (e.g., LinkedIn profile). • Contact data (e-mail address, phone number). • Other personal information provided. |
Publish content on the Platform | • content of your messages. • Identification data. |
Subscribe or consent to the reception of newsletters from Global CTO Forum GmbH and services you opted-in to. | • Contact details (e-mail address). |
Become a Member | • Identification data (first name, last name). • Contact data (e-mail address). • Payment information. |
We use the personal information that we collect or receive from our Users for the purposes described in this Policy and for other business purposes allowed by law, including the development, delivery, and performance of our services, sharing with our affiliates for related business purposes, and as follows:
We process personal data on the following legal basis for the following purposes:
| Purpose | Legal basis |
| Editing and allowing access to a public Platform | Legitimate interest of Global CTO Forum GmbH to edit a public Platform. |
| Offering communication between Global CTO ForumGmbH and the visitor. | The legitimate interest of Global CTO Forum GmbH is to offer visitors an efficient way to communicate with its teams. |
| Cookie information | Legitimate interest for necessary or exempted cookies (e.g. cookies enabling the operation of the Platform). Consent of the visitor for other cookies and trackers. |
| Responding to the User/visitor’s request for information related to the Services offered by Global CTO Forum GmbH or request for assistance | Legitimate interest of Global CTO Forum GmbH to offer its visitors a means to contact support teams. Contract with User (i.e. specific Terms of Use). |
| Manage the request(s) of the Users related to their data protection rights | Legal obligation of Global CTO Forum GmbH, especially regarding GDPR and CCPA compliance. |
| Enhance and improve the Services and Platform | Legitimate interests of Global CTO Forum GmbH to offer optimized Services. |
| Justify and demonstrate Global CTO Forum GmbH’s compliance with legal obligations in case of legal request and/or legal proceedings | Legitimate interest of Global CTO Forum GmbH to be able to demonstrate its compliance. |
| Allow access to Services as provided on the Platform | Contract (Terms of Use). |
| Allow the User to complete his/her Profile as he/she wishes | Legitimate interest to provide the Fan with the possibility to amend and complete his/her Profile. |
Global CTO Forum takes appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, modification, or unauthorized destruction of the data.
The Data processing is carried out using computers and/or IT-enabled tools, following organizational procedures and modes strictly related to the purposes indicated. In addition to Global CTO Forum, in some cases, the Data may be accessible to certain types of persons in charge, involved with the operation of this Platform (administration, sales, marketing, legal, system administration) or external parties (such as third-party technical service providers, mail carriers, hosting providers, IT companies, communications agencies) appointed, if necessary, as Data Processors by Global CTO Forum. The updated list of these parties may be requested from the Owner at any time
Depending on the User’s location, data transfers may involve transferring the User’s Data to a country other than their own. Your personal information is stored on servers in the U.S. Also, some of our service providers may store information on servers hosted in countries different from where you reside. As such, your personal information may be subject to the laws of other countries, where the data protection and other laws may not be as comprehensive as your country of residence.
If any such transfer takes place, Users can find out more by checking the relevant sections of this document or inquiring with Global CTO Forum using the information provided in the contact section.
For instance, with processors, partners, or businesses Global CTO Forum GmbH enters into data processing agreements and/or Standard Contractual Clauses (where necessary and as published by the European Union) to safeguard the processing of your Personal data.
In doing so, Global CTO Forum GmbH also commits these recipients to ensure the protection of your Personal data when it is further transferred (e.g. to one of their sub-processor). However, please note that for activities carried out outside the Platform (e.g. if you are redirected to a third-party platform or application), Global CTO Forum will no longer act as Data controller. Therefore, you must refer to such third-party’s data protection policy to know more about their commitments and your rights.
We may share your personal data with the following recipients:
Personal Data shall be processed and stored for as long as required by the purpose they have been collected for. Therefore:
Global CTO Forum GmbH may be allowed to retain Personal Data for a longer period whenever the User has given consent to such processing, as long as such consent is not withdrawn. Furthermore, the Owner may be obliged to retain Personal Data for a longer period whenever required to do so for the performance of a legal obligation or upon order of an authority.
Once the retention period expires, Personal Data shall be deleted. Therefore, the right to access, the right to erasure, the right to rectification, and the right to data portability cannot be enforced after the expiration of the retention period.
Users may exercise certain rights regarding their Data processed by Global CTO Forum GmbH. In particular, Users have the right to do the following:
Any requests to exercise User rights can be directed to Global CTO Forum GmbH through the contact details provided in this document. These requests can be exercised free of charge and will be addressed by the Owner as early as possible and always within one month.
If the user has any issues regarding data processing done by Global CTO Forum GmbH, the user can send a request to a competent national data protection authority.
This Privacy Policy Supplement for California Users (“Supplement”) adds additional terms to those contained in this Policy that applies solely to residents of the State of California who are subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended (“CCPA”).
Any terms defined in the CCPA that are not otherwise defined in this Supplement shall have the same meanings as such terms given in the CCPA.
The CCPA provides Users with certain additional rights and information regarding their personal information. This Supplement provides those disclosures and describes those additional rights and explains how such additional rights may be exercised. Please read this Supplement as an expansion of the terms of the Policy set forth above as to Users interacting or doing business with us.
Categories of Personal Information Collected.
Listed below are the categories of personal information that we collect and use in our business for commercial purposes. These categories of data do not all apply at all times or as to all Users and often our receipt of this data is based on a User’s voluntary submission of it to us for specific purposes or transactions requested by the User:
Category | Examples |
A. Identifiers | A real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name or other similar identifiers. |
B. Commercial information | Information regarding subscriptions to Services of the Platform. |
C. Internet or other network activity | Online browsing history, search history or other information relating to a User’s interaction with Platform. |
D. Geolocation data | Information relating to location. |
E. Inferences are drawn from other personal information | User profile data reflecting a person’s preferences, characteristics, or predispositions. |
Sale of Personal Information.
The CCPA requires that we disclose if we sell the personal information of Consumers to third parties which do not meet the definition of Service Providers under the CCPA. The common understanding of the term “sell” is to transfer property (in this case, personal information) for monetary consideration (i.e., cash), but under the CCPA, the definition of “sell” includes exchanging data for a business benefit other than cash. We do not sell, disclose, or transfer any Consumer’s personal information to a third party that does not meet the definition of Service Providers under the CCPA.
California Residents’ Rights
We extend the following rights to Users relating to their personal information that we have collected, used, or hold (collectively, “Data Rights”):
When Data Rights Do Not Apply. Data Rights are subject to certain exceptions and limitations based on the specific data processing activities involved or other legal constraints like law enforcement and litigation uses. If any of those exceptions or limitations should apply to a Data Rights request, we will explain in our response why (or the extent to which) we are unable to honor a User request.
Data Rights Described. A User’s rights relating to his or her personal information include one or more of the following rights if and as applicable to a given request (a “Data Rights Request”).
The Right to Know. A User has a right to request that we disclose certain information to him or her about our collection and use of the User’s personal information over the past 12 months. Upon such a request, after verification of the User’s identity, we will confirm (i) the categories of personal information we have collected about the User, (ii) the categories of sources from which such information was collected, (iii) the business or commercial purpose for our collection, disclosure or use of such data, (iv) the categories of any third parties with which we shared such personal information for a business purpose, and (v) the specific pieces of personal information we have collected about the User.
The Right of Deletion. In some circumstances, a User has the right to request that we delete personal information that we have collected from or about the User. Those circumstances include when (i) the personal information is no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which it was collected or processed; (ii) the User withdraws his or her consent to any consent-based processing such as marketing; and/or (iii) our continued processing of such data violates this Policy or is otherwise unlawful. However, there are exceptions to the right of deletion, including when our retention and processing of such data is reasonably necessary to (A) complete the transaction for which such data was collected, to fulfill the terms of a written warranty or product recall or otherwise perform our contract with the User, (B) provide a product or service requested by the User or take actions reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship, (C) detect security incidents or protect against deceptive, fraudulent or unlawful activity, (D) for internal use reasonably aligned with the User’s expectations under this Policy or applicable law, and/or (E) compliance with a legal obligation.
The Right to Data Portability. In certain circumstances under the Right to Know, a User has the right to access the specific pieces of his or her personal information that we collected from such User, by mail or electronically, and if provided electronically, in a portable, readily useable format to the extent technically feasible. However, this right does not apply where it is outweighed by other lawful needs or when the attempted return of it would adversely affect the rights or interests of others, such as when the personal information cannot be segregated from other protected data.
Right to Opt-Out of the Sale of Personal Information. If and to the extent we are deemed to Sell a User’s personal information to a third party, the User has the right to direct us to stop Selling the User’s personal information to such third parties (the “Right to Opt-Out”). To exercise the Right to Opt-Out, the User may submit a Data Rights Request Form to us invoking such right. The Consumer does not need to create an account with us to exercise his or her Right to Opt-Out. We will only use personal information provided in an opt-out request to review and comply with the requesting User’s request. A User’s exercise of the Right to Opt-Out will only apply to our disclosures to third parties who are not Service Providers and will not affect our own communications and transactions with our User or communications by our business partners with our Users in connection with our own business activities.
Any Data Rights Request must:
Users do not need to create an account with us to submit a Data Rights Request, but we do consider requests made through a password-protected account sufficiently verified when the request relates to the personal information associated with that account. We will only use the personal information provided in the request to verify the requestor’s identity or authority to make it.
We will promptly confirm receipt of any such request (generally within ten 10 days) and endeavor to substantively respond to it after verification within forty-five (45) days of its receipt. If we require more time (up to another 45 days), we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing.
If you have an account with us, we will deliver our written response to that account. If you do not have an account with us, we will deliver our written response by mail or electronically, or as otherwise agreed.
Any disclosures we provide will only cover the 12-month period preceding our receipt of your request. The response we provide will also explain the reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable. We do not charge a fee to process or respond to verifiable Data Rights Requests unless excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded.
Authorized Agent: The CCPA allows California consumers to designate an authorized agent to exercise their rights under CCPA. You can designate an authorized agent to submit requests on your behalf. However, we will require written proof of the agent’s permission to do so and verify your identity directly.
Right to Non-Discrimination. You have the right not to receive discriminatory treatment by us for the exercise of any of your rights.
Legal action
The User’s Personal Data may be used for legal purposes by Global CTO Forum GmbH in Court or in the stages leading to possible legal action arising from improper use of this Platform or the related Services.
System logs and maintenance
For operation and maintenance purposes, this Platform and any third-party services may collect files that record interaction with this Platform (System logs) use other Personal Data (such as the IP Address) for this purpose.
Information not contained in this policy
More details concerning the collection or processing of Personal Data may be requested from Global CTO Forum GmbH at any time. Please see the contact information at the beginning of this document.
Visiting Third-Party Platforms
Our Platform may contain links or references to third-party Platforms. These Platforms are outside of our control, and the privacy policies of these sites may differ from our own. Please be aware that we have no control over these third-party Platforms and our Privacy Notice does not apply to such Platforms. We encourage you to check the terms of use and privacy policies of such sites before disclosing any personal information via such sites. The privacy notice of the third-party site will govern how information collected from you is used by the owner of the Platform. You can always know what Platform you are on by checking the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) in the location bar within your browser.
Global CTO Forum GmbH reserves the right to make changes to this privacy policy at any time by notifying its Users on this page and possibly within this Platform and/or – as far as technically and legally feasible – sending a notice to Users via any contact information available to Global CTO Forum GmbH. It is strongly recommended to check this page often, referring to the date of the last modification listed at the bottom.
Should the changes affect processing activities performed on the basis of the User’s consent, Global CTO Forum GmbH shall collect new consent from the User, where required.
Latest update: August 15, 2023
