Hereby we inform you about the processing of personal data during the registration, implementation and follow-up of the live broadcast event (hereinafter "hybrid event"), the Robert Koch Colloquium. Personal data are any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter "data subject").

Please note that this is a translation of the official and legally binding German version. The English translation is for your convenience only.

1. Name and contact details of data controller and processor as well as the responsible data protection officer

Robert Koch Institute (RKI)
Nordufer 20
13353 Berlin
Represented by its President Prof. Dr. Lars Schaade
Email: info@rki.de

Data protection officer:
Robert Koch-Institute, for the attention of the data protection officer
Nordufer 20
13353 Berlin
Email: datenschutz@rki.de

2. Scope of processing

During planning and organisation (esp. registration, invitation, management of participants), implementation (esp. facilitation and technical provision) and follow up on the hybrid event, various types of personal data are processed. For the invitation and registration to the Robert Koch Colloquium, particularly processing of your first and last name and your e-mail address is required. These fields are marked as mandatory. You can also voluntarily provide other personal information, such as your organisation, in the message field of the contact form. If you are a speaker or participant in the discussion, we may also use your name, your organisation, a photo of you, brief information about your CV and, if applicable, your presence on social media to announce or promote the event (e.g. in the form of (digital) event flyers).

The scope of data processing in the context of the hybrid event also depends on the information you provide when participating in the hybrid event and the settings you make. The following personal data are always subject to processing within the scope of the hybrid event and are necessary for its implementation:

Participant details, information marked as mandatory such as surname, first name and e-mail address, and additional information provided voluntarily). In the case of online participation, this also includes access data and user ID.

Event and usage data, esp. topic, description (optional), participant IP addresses, information on hardware as well as software used. When dialing in with the telephone: information on the incoming and outgoing call number, country name, start and end time. If necessary, also additional connection data such as the IP address of the device can be stored.

User-generated data such as chat content: You may have the opportunity to use the chat, question or poll functions in a web meeting, provided that the responsible host allows this in the web meeting’s settings and provided that you engage in the web meeting by using the relevant functions. Naturally, use of the chat is completely voluntary.

If you give a presentation on Webex or participate in a panel discussion as part of the hybrid event, the data from the microphone of your used device and from any camera connected to the device will be processed in accordance with your settings for the duration of the meeting, in order to enable the simultaneous transmission and display of video and the playback of audio data (live streaming). You can switch off or mute the camera or microphone yourself at any time via the web meeting application. The responsible party will set the default settings in such a way that no text, audio or video data from you will be processed without you initiating this processing yourself. If you participate on site as a speaker or discussion participant, live streaming will take place via RKI’s IT-devices.

If (parts of) the hybrid event is recorded, the recordings might be saved and published after the event through RKI's communication channels, especially its YouTube channel. In addition, the recorded photo, video, and audio data may be published in whole or in part on the website, on posters, in print and through online media of the RKI within and outside RKI and on other social media channels of the RKI. In general, only speaker(s)/discussion participant(s) are affected by this. In some cases, depending on the chosen seat location, a participant on site may also be visible. Seats that are not affected by this are marked accordingly. If you do not wish to be filmed or recorded with the possibility of this being published, please ascertain you choose a suitably marked seat as well as informing photographers and the event organisation team on site.

3. Purposes and legal bases of data processing

Your personal data will be processed by the RKI in order to plan, organize, advertise and invite you to the hybrid event as part of the Robert Koch Colloquium event series. The legal basis for the associated processing is Art. 6 Para. 1 section e DSGVO in conjunction with § 4 IfSG. If you voluntarily provide further personal data in connection with your registration, the legal basis for the processing is Art. 6 (1) lit. a GDPR. If and to the extent that we process your data as a speaker/discussion participant in order to advertise the event, the legal basis for the processing is Art. 6 (1) (a) DSGVO.

Furthermore, RKI processes personal data in order to manage participants’ registration, to send you access data, as well as to implement and follow up on the hybrid event. For this purpose, we also use web applications to the extent described here in order to be able to make the event also digitally accessible via live stream and to enable participants to participate actively in the events regardless of their location. If you use the chat function, the text entries you make are processed in order to display them in the web meeting and to be able to discuss your questions in the context of the event. The legal basis for the associated processing is thereby Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 section b DSGVO. The legal basis for the processing of the optional information in the registration mask is Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. a DSGVO. To the extent that personal data of RKI employees are processed, Section 26 BDSG is the legal basis for data processing.

If you are active as a speaker/discussion participant in the hybrid event, photos, audio and video data of you as well as your presentation will be processed for the purpose of live streaming during the web meeting and, if applicable, for the purpose of recording and subsequent publication. The legal basis for the associated processing is your consent pursuant to Art. 6 (1) p. 1 lit. a DSGVO. In the exceptional case that these photos or audio and video recordings might also include participants on site, the legal basis for data processing is also Art. Art. 6 para. 1 p. 1 lit. a DSGVO.

If necessary for planning purposes, e.g. travel, catering and/or accommodation, further personal data may be processed from speakers or discussion participants. The legal basis is Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. b DSGVO. If we process sensitive personal data in this regard, e.g. specific dietary requirements or physical conditions, we require your consent (Art. 9 (2) a DSGVO).

In principle, you are not obliged to provide your personal data. However, it is not possible to participate via Cisco Webex without providing the data you need to register for the web meeting and the data that are technically required for its execution. For speakers/discussion participants, consent to live streaming is a prerequisite to participate. No automated decision-making or profiling takes place.

4. Recipients of the data

Personal data processed in connection with participation in webmeetings will on the whole not be disclosed to third parties, unless the data are specifically intended to be disclosed. The provider of the web meeting applications used, Webex, and its subcontractors are given the opportunity to gain knowledge of the above-mentioned data, insofar as this is intended for the organisation of the hybrid event. We currently work with the following service provider:

• Cisco Systems, Inc, 170 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, California 95134, USA.

The recordings of the meeting can be published on the publicly accessible YouTube channel of the RKI. YouTube is a video platform operated for European users by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland (https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de&gl=de). Here, in principle, only the personal data of the speakers/discussion participants contained in the recordings are processed. Exceptionally, the recordings may also contain personal data of participants on site.

Photo, audio, and video data taken during the hybrid event may also be published in whole or in part on the following publicly accessible RKI social media channels as part of the RKI's public relations work:

• Facebook, Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd., 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland, https://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation
• Instagram, Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd., 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland, https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875
• Linkedin, LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company, Wilton Place, Dublin, Ireland, https://linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy
• BlueSky, Bluesky PBLLC, Seattle, WA, USA, https://bsky.social/about/support/privacy-policy
• Mastodon, Mastodon gGmbH, Mühlenstraße 8a, 14167 Berlin, Germany, https://social.bund.de/privacy-policy 

In the context of announcing and advertising the hybrid event and the subsequent reporting, the RKI can publish your data as a speaker/discussion participant on its communication channels within and outside RKI and to potential event participants (esp. (inter)national research institutions and organisations).

5. Data processing outside the European Union

We use Cisco Webex for the organisation of web conferences. ‘Cisco Webex’ is a service provided by Cisco Systems, Inc. (Cisco), which is based in the USA. Personal data may therefore also be processed in a third country outside the EU or the EEA. Cisco is certified in accordance with the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. This certification ensures the adequacy of the level of data protection.

In the context of the announcement/application of the hybrid event, a transfer of your data to third countries/international organisations is possible. In addition, event recordings of the Robert Koch Colloquium are published on the YouTube channel or parts thereof as photo, video and audio data on other social media channels of the RKI mentioned in section 4. Since a transfer to third countries might be possible and we cannot guarantee that a level of data protection equivalent to that of the EU or the EEA exists is provided there. The legal basis for this is your consent in accordance with Art. 49 (1) 1 lit. a GDPR.

As explained above, this generally only applies to our speakers and panelists. However, as described above, in exceptional cases this may also affect participants on site. If you do not wish to be photographed and your data to be published, please make sure that your seat is appropriately marked or please contact the photographers and the event organisation team on site. 

6. Storage period

Your personal data will be stored until the basis for data processing no longer applies or after the expiry of statutory or official retention obligations.

The video and audio data exchanged via the hybrid event will generally only be temporarily stored to the extent necessary for streaming the data and then deleted. Only in the event that an (audio/video) recording is made will the recorded data be stored for as long as the consent of the data subjects permits, and on YouTube in any case for no longer than three years. On other social media platforms, the deletion periods may be longer. Personal data arising from e-mails or via chat during the web meeting will be deleted immediately after the end of the hybrid event.

The data required for the implementation/organisation of the event will be deleted after completion of the post-event processing. If data subjects expressly request deletion of their data beforehand, the data will be deleted immediately.

7. Rights of data subjects

Under the GDPR, you have the following rights under the conditions set out in the law: right of access (Art. 15 GPDR), right to rectification (Art. 16 GDPR), right to erasure (Art. 17 GDPR), right to restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR), right to data portability (Art. 20 GDPR), right to consent withdrawal (Art. 7(3) GDPR), right to object (Art. 21 GDPR). In addition, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a relevant authority (Art. 77 GDPR).

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact the RKI using the above contact details.