Privacy Policy (IQPC GmbH, Germany)

Last Updated, 12th March, 2025

Privacy Policy for our website visitors

We thank you for visiting our website. The following information outlines how we handle your data.

Controller 

For the data processing described below, the IQPC companies listed in the table are jointly responsible for the protection of your personal data in accordance with Art. 26 (1) GDPR. They have agreed that both will ensure compliance with the obligations under the GDPR to the same extent. The companies shall immediately inform each other of any legal positions asserted by data subjects. They shall provide each other with all information necessary to respond to requests for information. Upon request, the controllers will provide you with the essential content of the agreement pursuant to Art. 26 GDPR.

Storage duration

Unless we have already informed you individually about the storage duration, we will delete personal data when it is no longer necessary for the aforementioned processing purposes and there are no legitimate interests or other (legal) retention reasons that oppose deletion.

Obligation to provide data

The provision of your data is not legally required and is voluntary. However, the provision of your data is necessary for the use of certain services. This includes, for example, your usage data, without which we cannot technically provide our website content. If required data is not provided, the respective service or function cannot be provided. We will inform you when entering data if the provision is necessary for the respective service or function. These data are marked as mandatory fields. If required data is not provided, the respective service or function cannot be provided. If optional data is not provided, we may not be able to provide our services in the same form and to the same extent as usual.

Data processor

We share your data with service providers in accordance with Article 28 of the GDPR, who support us in operating our websites and related processes including but not limited to data storage, email marketing and information security. Our service providers are strictly bound by our instructions and are contractually obligated accordingly.

Data security

In order to protect your data as comprehensively as possible from unauthorized access, we implement technical and organizational measures. We use an encryption method on our websites. Your data is transmitted from your computer to our server and vice versa over the internet using TLS encryption. You can usually recognize this by the fact that the lock symbol in your browser's status bar is closed and the address bar begins with https://.

Usage data

When you visit our website, usage data is temporarily logged and evaluated for statistical purposes on our web server in order to improve the quality of our website. This data includes:

• The name and address of the requested content
• The date and time of the request
• The amount of data transferred
• The access status (content transmitted, content not found)   
• A description of the web browser and operating system used
• The referral link, indicating from which page you arrived at our website   
• The IP address of the requesting computer, which is shortened to such an extent that personal identification is no longer possible.

The aforementioned log data is evaluated only in anonymized form. The legal basis for the processing of usage data is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. The processing takes place in the legitimate interest of providing the content of the website and ensuring a device- and browser-optimized presentation.

Storage of IP addresses for security purposes

We also collect your IP address for as long as is necessary to help us detect and prevent cyberattacks on our website. When your IP address is no longer needed for these purposes, we either delete or make this information anonymous. We do this to protect our website and our users, and it's allowed under data protection laws (GDPR Article 6(1)(f)).

Essential cookies

Our websites use cookies that are essential for using our website. Cookies are small text files that can be stored and retrieved on your device. We distinguish between session cookies, which are deleted when you close your browser, and persistent cookies, which are stored beyond the individual session.

We do not use these essential cookies for analytics, tracking, or advertising purposes. Some of these cookies contain only information about specific settings and are not personally identifiable. They may also be necessary to enable user guidance, security, and the implementation of the site.

We use these cookies on the basis of our legitimate interest pursuant to Article 6(1)(f) GDPR.

You can configure your browser to inform you about the placement of cookies. You can also delete them at any time using the corresponding browser setting and prevent the setting of new cookies. Please note that our website may then not be displayed completely and some functions may no longer be technically available.

Further information on the individual cookies can be found in our Cookie Policy.

Consent Banner

On our websites, we use a consent management platform (consent or cookie banner). The processing in connection with the use of the consent management platform and the logging of the settings you have made is based on Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, in our legitimate interest to play out our content according to your preferences and to be able to prove your given consent(s). Your settings, the consents given therewith, and parts of your usage data are stored in a cookie. This ensures that it remains for subsequent page requests and that your consents can continue to be traced. For more information, please refer to the section "Essential Cookies".

Google Consent Mode

We use Google Consent Mode V2 (Basic Mode). This means that regardless of your settings in the banner, your IP address will be transmitted to Google. However, Google will delete this immediately after recording it and will not log it. The processing takes place in our legitimate interest to better control and use certain functions of the consent-required Google services used on the website. The legal basis for the processing is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR.

Visitor measurement (cookies for analysis purposes)

To tailor our websites to your needs, we use web analytics tools. These create user profiles based on pseudonyms. To do this, permanent cookies are stored on your device and read by us. In addition, it is possible that we may retrieve recognition features for your browser or device (e.g., a so-called browser fingerprint or your unshortened IP address). This allows us to recognize and count returning visitors.

In addition to the above, we use the following features as part of our visitor measurement:

• We enrich the pseudonymous data with additional data provided to us by third parties. This enables us to capture demographic data about our visitors, such as information on age, gender, and place of residence.
• We use a recognition method that allows us to record and subsequently evaluate the mouse movements of our visitors.
• We process your data based on your consent according to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a GDPR, provided you have given your consent via our banner. 

Which third-party providers do we use in this context? 

Below we list the third-party providers with whom we cooperate in connection with visitor measurement. If data is processed outside the EU or EEA in this context, please note that there is a risk that authorities may access the data for security and surveillance purposes without your knowledge or the possibility of legal redress.

For more information on which cookies from which providers we use on our websites, please refer to our Cookie Policy.

Tracking technologies from third-party providers for advertising purposes

We use cross-device tracking technologies to show you targeted ads on other websites based on your visits to our website and to measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns. 

Data processing is based on your consent according to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a GDPR, provided you have given your consent via our banner. Your consent is voluntary and can be revoked at any time. 

How does tracking work? 

When you visit our website, the third-party providers listed below may collect recognition features for your browser or device (e.g., a so-called browser fingerprint), evaluate your IP address, store or read recognition features on your device (e.g., cookies), or access individual tracking pixels. 

The individual features can be used by third-party providers to recognize your device on other websites. We can commission the relevant third-party providers to place ads that are tailored to the pages you have visited on our website. 

What does cross-device tracking mean?

If you log in to the third-party provider with your own user data, the respective recognition features of different browsers and devices can be linked together. For example, if the third-party provider has created a separate feature for the laptop, desktop PC, or smartphone/tablet you are using, these individual features can be assigned to each other as soon as you use a service of the third-party provider with your login data. In this way, the third-party provider can also target our advertising campaigns across different devices. 

Which third-party providers do we use in this context?

Below we list the third-party providers with whom we cooperate for advertising purposes. If data is processed outside the EU or EEA in this context, please note that there is a risk that authorities may access the data for security and surveillance purposes without your knowledge or the possibility of legal redress.

For more information on which cookies from which providers we use on our websites, please refer to our Cookie Policy.

Integration of other technical third-party content and functions

To present our website, we use the following technical functions and content from third-party providers. Accessing our pages leads to the loading of content provided by the third-party provider who offers these functions and content. This provides the third-party provider with the information that you have visited our pages as well as the technically necessary usage data in this context. We have no influence on the further data processing by the third-party provider. The embedding is based on Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR and in the interest of designing our pages as attractively and informatively as possible.

For more information on which cookies from which providers we use on our websites, please refer to our Cookie Policy.

Embedded videos and players

On our website, we embed videos that are not stored on our servers. For data protection reasons, no content from the third-party provider is loaded when you visit our website and the third-party provider does not receive any information. 

Only when you give your consent via our banner will the third-party provider's content be loaded. This provides the third-party provider with the information that you have visited our site as well as the technically necessary usage data in this context. Additionally, the third-party provider is then able to implement tracking technologies. We have no influence on the further data processing by the third-party provider. Your consent includes the loading of content from the third-party provider. The embedding is based on your consent, provided you have given your consent via our banner. For the service provider YouTube, based in the USA, an adequate level of data protection is ensured due to the provider's certification under the adequacy decision (EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework).

For more information on which cookies from which providers we use on our websites, please refer to our Cookie Policy.

Captcha

To protect our web forms from automated requests, we use a CAPTCHA provided by a third-party service (Google reCAPTCHA). As part of the CAPTCHA function, you may be asked to solve tasks or click on checkboxes. The user input made in this context and possibly also the mouse movements are used to estimate whether the input comes from a human or an automated program. 

Since the function is provided by a third-party provider, displaying the CAPTCHA leads to the loading of the third-party provider's content. This provides the third-party provider with the information that you have visited our site as well as the technically necessary usage data in this context. We generally have no influence on the further data processing by the third-party provider. 

The embedding is based on Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR and in the interest of protecting against spam and abuse.

Business partner, supplier, and customer data

The conduct of our business relationships requires the processing of data from our contractual partners. Insofar as this data allows for conclusions to be drawn about a natural person (e.g., a company contact, supplier), it constitutes personal data. We only process personal data that we receive from you in the context of our business relationship. This includes your name, address, company affiliation, and your contact details (telephone number, email address).   

The processing of your personal data may result from the implementation of pre-contractual measures that precede a contractually regulated business relationship or from the fulfillment of obligations arising from a contract concluded with you. This may include, for example, the processing of purchase orders, deliveries or payments, or the creation and response to offers from individuals to determine the basis or conditions of a contractual relationship. The legal basis is Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b GDPR.   

Furthermore, we are subject to legal obligations that may require the processing of your personal data. These legal obligations may arise, for example, from tax, commercial, foreign trade or sanctions law. The legal basis for the processing of data for these purposes is Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. c GDPR.   

In addition, it may be necessary for the processing of your personal data to safeguard legitimate interests (Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR). The legitimate interests are in particular the conclusion or execution of contracts and other business relationships with our business partners, suppliers or interested parties for whom you may act as a representative or employee. Furthermore, legitimate interests are internal administrative purposes (e.g. for accounting) or the assurance of IT security and IT operations as well as for the conduct of compliance investigations, to ensure building and plant security or to assert, exercise or defend legal claims.   

Within the framework of our business relationship, you must provide us with the personal data that is necessary for the establishment, execution and termination of a business relationship and for the fulfilment of the associated obligations, which we are required to collect by law or to which we are entitled on the basis of legitimate interests. Without this data, we will generally not be able to contact you and/or enter into a business relationship with you. Insofar as you have voluntarily provided us with data, we will indicate this accordingly in the context of data collection.

Contact forms

You have the opportunity to contact us via various contact or web forms. To use our contact forms, we initially require the data marked as mandatory. We process this data on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR in order to answer your inquiry. Your data will be processed to answer your inquiry as well as for marketing purposes. We will delete the data as soon as the inquiry has been finally resolved, there are no legal retention periods or legitimate interests that oppose deletion and you object receiving direct marketing mails/calls from us. 

With regard to processing pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR, you have the right to object at any time. Please contact the following email address: dpo-iqpc.com.

Newsletter signup and delivery

You can subscribe to our e-newsletter on our websites. Please note that we require certain data (at least your email address) to subscribe to the newsletter. 

In addition to the data mentioned above, we store further data during the newsletter registration process, insofar as this is necessary for us to prove that you have subscribed to our newsletter. This may include the storage of the complete IP address at the time of the order or confirmation of the newsletter, as well as a copy of the confirmation email we sent. The corresponding data processing is based on Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR and in the legitimate interest of being able to account for the legality of the newsletter dispatch.

Event registration

In general, we process the following categories of personal data in this context: name, contact details such as email address (private or business), telephone number (private or business), company, position, address (billing address, delivery address) and payment data. We process your data in particular for the following purposes:

• Order processing and contract fulfilment
• Sending the registration confirmation
• Creating a name badge for in-person events
• Support before, during and after the event
• Creating a participant list
• Forwarding the participant list to speakers for optimal preparation for the event
• If applicable, forwarding the participant list to third parties involved in the event organization 
• Sharing with event sponsors for their marketing purposes, subject to your express consent

This data processing is based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b) GDPR (contract fulfilment, event organization) and Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f) GDPR (legitimate interests, based on our interest in preparing the event in the best possible way), and Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a) GDPR (consent).

If you choose a third-party provider such as PayPal, Braintree and Chase PaymentTech for payment processing, you will be redirected to the corresponding pages of the provider. Each third-party provider is responsible for data protection under data protection law. For more information on data processing, please contact the respective payment service provider directly. 

If you voluntarily provide us with additional information about your professional qualifications or your telephone number, we will use this to contact you after you have ordered the subscription for further contract initiation. 

The data processing is based on Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b) GDPR, insofar as you are our contractual partner as a natural person. In addition, we may process your data for the assertion, exercise or defense of legal claims on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR, in particular if there are problems with the payment processing. Our legitimate interest lies in the effective enforcement or defense of legal claims.

For some of our events, additional information is required to meet, for example, any on-site security requirements. For this purpose, the data may also be passed on to third parties. The data processing is based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f) GDPR (balancing of interests, based on our interest in carrying out the event). We will inform you in good time about the required information and delete this data immediately after the event.

Newsletter and information about events and membership in IQPC

If you have registered for the event via a website, you also have the option of voluntarily subscribing to the newsletter or to mailings for future events and services as well as information about membership in IQPC Ltd. The legal basis for storing the email address and sending the information is your consent pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a), 7 GDPR, which you can revoke at any time with effect for the future. An easy way to revoke your consent is via the unsubscribe link in each email. In the context of registering for the newsletter and mailing, we store further data in addition to the data already mentioned, insofar as this is necessary for us to prove that you have subscribed to our newsletter. This may include the storage of the complete IP address at the time of the order or confirmation of the newsletter, as well as a copy of the confirmation email we sent. The corresponding data processing is based on Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f) GDPR and serves the purpose of being able to account for the legality of the consent.   

Information on similar event formats/topics 

We use your email address provided in connection with your registration for an event of IQPC Gesellschaft für Management Konferenzen mbH for direct marketing for our own similar event formats. You will receive these event recommendations regardless of whether you have subscribed to our newsletter. In this way, we want to provide you with information about events and topics that may interest you based on your previous registrations for our events. If you do not wish to receive these event recommendations, you can object to this at any time without incurring any costs other than the transmission costs according to the basic tariffs. An informal notification to the address database@iqpc.com is sufficient. Alternatively, you can also use the unsubscribe link contained in each email. The legal basis for the described data processing is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f) GDPR (balancing of interests, based on our interest in advertising to existing customers) and § 7 para. 3 UWG (processing of your email address for direct marketing).   

Some of our events are supported by partner companies or sponsors. In this case, you have the opportunity to consent to the transfer of your data to our partner companies/sponsors so that they can send you advertising information. The data transfer to our partner companies/sponsors is based on your consent pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a) GDPR. You can find our partner companies/sponsors in the overview linked in the consent text. Some of the partner companies/sponsors are located in countries outside the European Union. Some of these countries are considered to be unsafe third countries from a data protection perspective because the data protection laws there generally do not protect personal data to the same extent as in the Member States of the European Union. Thus, it cannot be ruled out that authorities are allowed to access data without the data subjects being able to assert effective legal protection against such access. Furthermore, the rights of the data subjects may be restricted.

Become a Contributor

You can apply to contribute to the editorial section of our website by email. To do so, we require your surname, first name, profession, company, photo, a short biography, and a writing sample. The transmission of your data and any attached files is encrypted. After the selection process is complete, the information you provided for the specific selection process and the documents submitted will be deleted after six months, unless we have entered into a contract with you. The legal basis for data processing is Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b) GDPR (fulfilment of a contract)."

Registration and Deregistration

In the context of IQPC membership (“IQ Membership”), we collect personal data to provide you with a personalized and valuable service. If you wish to use our password-protected area with your own user account, prior registration is required. We only collect the data necessary for registration and the provision of the service (email address, password, first and last name, name of organization, telephone number). We regularly use your email address as your username. Processing is carried out on the basis of Article 6(1)(b) GDPR (fulfilment of a contract).

If you wish to permanently deregister from our password-protected area or delete your user account, please use the option to delete your account in the password-protected area or email your request to database@iqpc.com. We transmit your data to processors for the purpose of operating and providing the password-protected area, who are strictly bound to us by instructions and are contractually obligated accordingly. Currently, these are processors who support us in the operation and provision of our websites.

Receiving advertising

We also use your information to provide you with personalized offers and content, to manage your membership smoothly, and to inform you about relevant news and events. For this purpose, we use your first and last name, company, job title, telephone number, and country to contact you by phone or email, address you personally, and provide you with targeted advertising. We need your country to determine your time zone and contact you at a suitable time. You can object to receiving advertising at any time by informing our employees by phone or email.

Newsletter

If you have an IQ account, you will also receive our email newsletter with articles, agendas, podcasts, webinars, event discounts, and other offers. We use the email address you provided during registration to send you the newsletter. This is part of your membership. You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time by using the unsubscribe link at the bottom of each email or by sending an email to info@iqpc.com. Your email address will then be removed from the distribution list.

Webinars

If you have an IQ account, you will gain access to our webinar offerings. The webinars are provided by our sponsors. By registering for a webinar, you consent to the transfer of your data (surname, first name, telephone number, email address) to the respective sponsor of the webinar so that they can contact you.

IQ-Membership

In order to provide our website users with a personalised and valuable service, we operate several divisions which require membership. We will collect information from future members during the subscription process.

You can become a member of IQ portal:
- when you create a membership account;
- when you check the relevant opt-in box in our content download forms;
- when you register to one of our events;

When you become IQ Member your profile including posts, comments, articles and images will be fully visible to all Members of the same IQ portal. You can update your data sharing preferences in My Account settings.

Member Profile. We have a Member Profile on the site which contains profiles of our individual members. The information we collect for this comes from two sources. Firstly, it is the information which you give when you join as a Member, or the information you subsequently update via the section MY IQ. Secondly, we store details of contributions you have made to the site (for example, forum posts, blog comments, job adverts posted, press releases posted) and link to these, where relevant, from your member profile, except where you have chosen to contribute anonymously.

Member profile

On our website, we have a member profile section that contains profiles of our individual members. The information in the member profile is based on the data you provided during registration and through the "MY IQ" section. Additionally, we store details of your contributions to the website (e.g., forum posts, blog comments, posted job advertisements, and/or press releases) and link to these from your member profile, unless you have opted for anonymous contributions.

IQ members have the opportunity to network, send messages, post content, and comment on posts. Members are also notified of activities within their network. IQPC processes the content, communications, and other information you provide when using our products and My Network features. This includes registration, posting, sharing, commenting, or liking content, messaging other members, and the date of the post or other metadata.

As an IQ member, you can search for other IQ members, add them to your network, and manage and sort them there. Your name, first name, profession, and company may also be searched for and viewed by other members. Your full profile is only visible to those who connect with you. Based on your profession or company information, members will be suggested to you, and you will be suggested to other members. This is intended to optimize networking and communication. We process this data on the legal basis of Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in providing our members with a network and the corresponding functions.

Members can send messages to each other. The content of the messages can be viewed by the respective recipients. We process the content of the messages as well as the data of the recipients and senders on the legal basis of Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in enabling our members to communicate with each other within the network.   

In addition, as an automotive IQ member, you can post content such as thoughts, ideas, articles, or photos. These posts are visible on the activity wall and can be liked/unliked, shared, and commented on by you or other members. The posts that you post, share, or like are also visible to other members. The legal basis for this data processing is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in providing our members with an infrastructure in which they can draw other members' attention to posts and discuss them with other members.

As a member, you will receive notifications when there are activities to report, e.g., when another member wants to add you to their network or your post has been commented on. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in informing our members about activities within the network that concern them. You can delete your profile and the associated data such as posts, comments, or likes. You can delete your account in the by emailing us at database@iqpc.com.

The legal basis for data processing within the IQ membership is the fulfilment of our contract with you (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR) and our legitimate interest in improving our services, in the interest of providing our members with interesting offers, and in the interest of establishing contact between sponsors and interested parties and generating leads (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Your data will be treated confidentially and will not be passed on to third parties unless you have expressly consented or there is a legal obligation to do so. We store your data for the duration of your membership and beyond, as long as it is necessary for the purposes mentioned or as long as there are legal retention periods.

White-Paper/Agenda

You have the opportunity to download our whitepapers and agendas. The whitepapers are provided by our sponsors. By downloading a whitepaper, you consent to the transfer of your data (surname, first name, telephone number, email address) to the respective sponsor of the whitepaper so that they can contact you. The legal basis for this is Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in facilitating contact between sponsors and interested parties and generating leads.

Event Apps

When you register for our event, you may have the opportunity to download the event app for that event.

The app allows you to view the agenda, sponsors and speakers for the event, and provides enhanced networking and interactivity at the event, which allows all attendees to see the name, job title and company name of anyone who attends the event. Should you choose to download and/or use the app, you agree to sharing these basic details with, and to be contacted by, other attendees within the app solely for networking purposes in connection with the event.  You can update your data sharing and networking preferences in your app profile at any time.

As a condition of downloading and/or using the event app, you agree that your use of the personal data of other member on the app will be solely for the purpose of in-event networking while at the event.  You will not download, copy, save, publish, distribute, scrape, extract, or otherwise use the personal data on the app for any other purpose. You further agree not to share access to the app or make the app data available to any third party, or use a third- party software for any prohibited use, including downloading, copying, saving, publishing, distribution, scraping or extraction of the app data.

You agree, as a condition of access to the app, that you will hold harmless and indemnify the event organizer for any breach of the above terms and conditions or any other misuse of app data.

Your Rights

As a data subject, you have the right to access your personal data (Article 15 GDPR) and to have inaccurate data corrected (Article 16 GDPR) or deleted if one of the reasons stated in Article 17 GDPR applies, for example, if the data is no longer needed for the purposes pursued. You also have the right to restrict processing if one of the conditions listed in Article 18 GDPR is met, and in the cases of Article 20 GDPR, the right to data portability. If the processing of data is based on your consent, you have the right to revoke your consent to the use of your personal data at any time in accordance with Article 7 GDPR. A revocation does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out on the basis of the consent until revocation. Any data subject also has the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if they consider that the processing of personal data concerning them infringes data protection regulations (Article 77 GDPR).