The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) entered into force on 25 May, 2018. In compliance with this regulation, the publisher of provenance.international sets forth the following:

The publisher remains committed to user [hereafter „data subject“] privacy. A data subject’s identity, correspondence, inquiries, disclosures and all other such “personal data” are also of special concern because of the nature of the research services offered. „Personal data“ under the GDPR is defined as „all information which is related to an identified or identifiable natural person (data subject); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person; […].“ Article 4 (1) GDPR, „Definitions“.

As is the case with all websites, server log files are generated automatically at and during access to provenance.international. These files contain such information as the user’s browser and operating system type and version, ISP domain name, IP address and other information pertinent to the specific session. To what extent server log file information constitutes personal data under the GDPR is unclear. It appears that the regulation’s references to direct or indirect identification via „location data“ [Ger. „zu Standortdaten“; Fr. „des données de localisation“] or an „online identifier“ [Ger. „zu einer Online-Kennung“; Fr. „un identifiant en ligne“] implicate server log file information.

Recording and storing such information is not the publisher’s policy, but rather an operational fact of  internet communications worldwide.

Privacy Policy

1. The publisher of provenance.international as identified in the section Impressum is identical to the „controller“ and “data protection officer.“

2. Server log files associated with provenance.international are stored at a high-security data center in Germany for a standard duration of seven days and then erased. The publisher makes no use of the personal data they may temporarily hold. Server log files will be accessed only in the event of unforeseen technical difficulties, security breaches, hacking, cyber attacks or other criminal activity.

3. The website provenance.international does not use cookie, tracking or analytical applications.

4. If you contact the publisher and/or associates via the email addresses specified in the section Impressum, your personal data, including any inquiries you make and any information you disclose, will be archived and treated in strictest confidence and shared with external project team members or other third parties  in accordance with Article 6, 1 (b) and Article 6, 1 (f) GDPR, „Lawfulness of processing“, only upon your express written consent.

5. As a „data subject“ you have specific rights under the GDPR including the right of access; the right to rectification; the right to erasure (‘the right to be forgotten’); the right to restriction of processing; the right to data portability; and a general right to object as set forth in Articles 15, 16, 17, 18, 20 and 21 respectively.

6. To download the English text of the GDPR as a .pdf, click on the flag