This policy is the ‘User Agreement’ of our website, online presence, and other relevant media related to The SMC Group. Please ensure you carefully read and consider the information here, and reach out with any questions or concerns.
About
At The SMC Group, we are committed to protecting the privacy and security of our website visitors and users. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and share your personal information and your choices regarding the information we collect. We believe in participatory, decolonised, intersectional, and inclusive approaches. We aim to create a safe and inclusive space for all our users, regardless of their background or identity. We do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or hate speech on our website.
This policy supplements other notices we may provide you occasionally and is not intended to override them.
Information We Collect
We may collect your personal information when you visit our website, fill out a form, or buy a service. This may include your name, email address, phone number, and other contact information. We may also collect non-personal information, such as your browser type and version, operating system, and IP address.
Our Vendors and Clients
If you apply to work with us, we may collect relevant professional information about you and your work. During the application stage, we will collect your identity, contact, and relevant qualification information. All partners, subcontractors, suppliers, and others engaged in a contractual relationship with The SMC Group are given a separate privacy and data protection policy during the contracting stage. Your privacy is guaranteed through this agreement.
Any materials shared with us at this stage, including your CVs, publications, written or verbal applications, and all submissions and communications during the application process made in any recorded media, are also treated with strict confidentiality, and you retain the full right to your work at whatever stage.
If we do not proceed with your application, you can delete all your information from our internal databases and any place it is stored. If we proceed with your application, your data will be securely stored and used solely for our work, contact with you, or project. In most cases, information is stored on our servers, based in Spain, for up to a year. We may contact you to ask for any updates, so please let us know if you have any questions.
All clients are sent a separate data protection and privacy policy alongside our Code of Conduct during the project kickoff stage. This is in addition to our contract and does not replace it. It outlines The SMC Group’s commitment to clients’ and their communities’ data protection and privacy.
Third Parties
We use WordPress to host this website, MailChimp for emails and marketing, and LinkedIn and Google for communications. Our relationships with these vendors allow them to process your data stored on their secure servers only for the reasons necessary to deliver that service. We have contracts in place requiring them to store your information securely, dispose of it securely, not use it for their own purposes, and not sell it to others.
We process your names and email addresses to send you our newsletters and use MailChimp to process our subscriptions. You can, of course, unsubscribe at any time. When you fill out a form to access materials, your data (names, emails, and messages) are securely stored on WordPress and MailChimp.
All our vendors, including these third parties, have safeguards in place to ensure they are obliged to provide at least the same level of data protection as the one you are getting on this website. We do not use any other third parties to process your data, transfer your data outside the EEA, or disclose your data to recipients or services other than those mentioned here. If we were ever to do so, we would communicate with you and comply with EU Privacy Law.
All third parties are legally obliged to comply with your security and treat it according to the law. They are not allowed to use your data for any purpose outside the specific service for which The SMC Group has contracted them; they are permitted to process your data for particular purposes that align with our instructions. We will never sell any information to third parties or share your information with third parties outside the scope above.
How We Use Your Information
We use your personal information to provide you with the services and products you requested. We may also use your information to communicate with you about our products, services, and promotions. We will not share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.
We may share your information with our service providers who assist us in providing our services, such as payment processors and website hosting services. We require our service providers to protect your personal information and use it only for the purposes for which it was provided.
We may also disclose your personal information when required by law or to protect our rights or the rights of others.
Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data
We process your data based on the following legal grounds:
- Your consent, where you have provided it
- The need to perform a contract with you, such as when you make a purchase
- Our legitimate interests, such as improving our services and protecting our rights
Your Rights Under GDPR
Based in Spain, The SMC Group is covered by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You have the following rights:
- The right to access and update your personal information. You can request a copy of the data we hold about you to check that we are lawfully processing it.
- The right to have your personal information deleted or corrected, including asking us to delete or remove personal information.
- The right to restrict the processing of personal data
- The right to object to or restrict the processing of your personal information
- The right to data portability
- The right to withdraw your consent, where you have provided it
Once you’ve provided your consent to us and these third parties, you can withdraw that consent for any processing. Please get in touch with us if you need anything. Please note that we also use analytics providers outside the EU who may provide further information.
Cookies
We may use cookies on our website to improve your browsing experience. You can turn off cookies in your browser settings, but this may limit your ability to use certain features of our website. If cookies are enabled, our automated technologies can collect information about your equipment, browsing actions, interactions, and other related personal data. We may be able to see your location through internet protocol address (IP), browser type, time zone, and browser plug-ins. You may be able to hide some of this through settings in your browser.
How Long We Keep Your Data
We keep your data by our retention/destruction guidelines. We generally retain your data for as long as you do not withdraw your consent, as long as necessary, or as long as you don’t object to the processing.
Additionally, we only retain your data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the specific legal, tax, accounting, or regulatory needs we collected. We may retain your data for a more extended period in case of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation regarding our relationship with you.
Security
In alignment with GDPR, we have security measures in place including two-factor authentication, to prevent any accidental loss, use, alteration, or unauthorised access to your data. We also have procedures in place to address any suspected personal and professional data breaches. We will notify you if any breach occurs and review our security protocols annually.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or would like to exercise your rights under GDPR, please contact us using the contact information provided on our website.
Consent
Using this website, you consent to the terms set out in this Privacy Policy.
The SMC Group includes links, media, and other information from other websites and companies, and you may be redirected elsewhere while browsing. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of any websites other than our own, and we recommend you first review others’ policies before sharing information with them.
Approvals and Reviews
We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on our website. Two data protection experts independently reviewed this policy, and though their identity is anonymised for the website, it is available to those who would like further information. Please get in touch with me for more.
[This policy was last updated in March 2024. It is reviewed semi-annually and formally updated at the end of each fiscal year in Spain].
