Privacy policy

1.1 Responsibility and Data Protection Officer

Responsibility for the processing of personal data lies with the

Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
Scharnhorststr. 34-37
10115 Berlin
Germany
Postal address: 11019 Berlin
info(at)bmwk.bund.de
www.bmwk.de
+49 30 18615 0

If you have any specific questions about the protection of your data at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, please contact the Ministry’s Data Protection Officer:

Data Protection Officer for the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
Scharnhorststr. 34-37
10115 Berlin
datenschutzbeauftragte(at)bmwk.bund.de

1.2 Personal Data

"Personal data" is any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. An identifiable natural person is someone who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, and/or an online identifier.

1.3 Protection of minors

Children and persons under 16 years of age should not transmit any personal data to us without the consent of their parents or legal guardians.

Should it happen that persons under 16 years of age do contact the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action by email, contact form, letter etc., Points 3.1, 3.3, 3.6 through 3.7 shall apply.

1.4 Legislation governing the processing of personal data

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action processes personal data as it carries out the tasks of public interest that are assigned to it. These public duties particularly include public relations work, which also involves providing information for the public on this website. The processing of personal data in this context is based on Art. 6 (1) (e) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in conjunction with the relevant national or European standards, or in conjunction with Section 3 of the Federal Data Protection Act. The same applies to applications made to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, the processing of which requires the ministry to process personal data (e.g. applications for funding or for access to information under the German Freedom of Information Act, the Environmental Information Act or press law). Insofar as the processing of personal data is, in individual cases, required in order to fulfil a legal obligation, this is based on Article 6 (1) (c ) GDPR in conjunction with the relevant legal provisions under which the legal obligation arises.

Insofar as we obtain the consent of the data subject to process his/her personal data, this is based on Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR.

In individual cases, the processing of personal data required for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party is based on Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR. This also applies to processing operations necessary for the implementation of pre-contractual measures. As a contracting party under civil law, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is particularly active in the field of personnel recruitment and procurement.

In the event that vital interests of the data subject or another natural person make it necessary to process personal data, this is based on Art. 6 (1) (d) GDPR.

1.5 Processing of personal data from the ministry’s executive agencies

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action has 6 executive agencies: Bundeskartellamt, Bundesnetzagentur, Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control, Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt and Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources. As the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is responsible for supervising the work of these agencies, personal data may be transferred to and processed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

2.1 Data capturing

Whenever a user accesses our website and whenever a file is accessed, data relating to this is temporarily processed in a log file. More specifically, the following data is stored for every single access/download:

• Date and time (time stamp), IP address of the device or server used
• Details of the request and target address (log version, HTTP method, referrer, user-agent string),
• Name of the file accessed, volume of data transferred (URL including query string, file size in byte) and
• confirmation as to whether the request was successful (HTTP status code).

We are obliged under Article 6 (1) (e) GDPR in conjunction with Section 5 Federal Office for Information Security Act to store data that is necessary to protect the Ministry’s internet infrastructure and the federal communications technology system from attack; data must be stored beyond the time of your visit. This data is analysed and may be used for legal and criminal proceedings in the event of an attack on the communications technology system. The data will be deleted as soon as it is no longer needed for the intended purpose.

Data collected from visits to the IKI's web resources and stored on log files is transmitted to third parties only when required by law, or if attacks on the federal communications technology system make it necessary to forward such data for purposes of legal action or criminal prosecution. Data will not be transferred for any other reason. The Ministry does not compile this data with data from other sources.

2.2 Web analysis

As part of its PR work and for the purposes of meeting demand for information about the IKI, the Ministry conducts use analyses for statistical purposes and in line with Article 6 (1) (e) GDPR in conjunction with Section 3 Federal Data Protection Act.

The Ministry uses a web tracking tool to obtain anonymous data about user visits to our websites. This data can be used to create pseudonimised use profiles. The cookies placed on your computer are solely used to draw conclusions about the user patterns on the Ministry’s websites and to regularly review the information service we provide to the users. No personal data is retained or passed on to third parties. It is possible to withhold or withdraw consent to the future collection and storage of data at any time.You can find more information about the use of cookies on this website in our cookie declaration.

The ways in which personal data is processed depend on the channel of communication used, i.e. whether the Ministry is contacted by email, its contact form, by mail or by telephone (hotline).

3.1 Contacting the IKI by email

In addition to contacting staff at their personalised official email addresses, or by writing to one of the various office mail boxes, it is also possible to contact the IKI at: iki-office@z-u-g.org. In the latter case, the sender’s IP address will be recorded alongside the date and time of the query. The personal data sent to this central inbox and stored by the unit responsible for forwarding messages to the recipient responsible for the matter in hand will be deleted one year after the message is forwarded. For queries made to our Citizens’ Dialogue and our Visitor Services teams, please note the information in 3.3 and 3.4 below.

The units will store the data transmitted by you (e.g. name, first name, address), and at least your email address and all information contained in your email (including any personal data you transmit in this way) for the purpose of contacting you and answering your query. The data will be stored in accordance with the statutory time limits for retaining written records as per the Registry Directive, which applies in conjunction with the Joint Rules of Procedure of the federal ministries. We would like to inform you that data is processed in line with Article 6(1) (e) GDPR in conjunction with Section 3 Federal Data Protection Act. We need to process the data you transmit so that we can answer your query.

The IP address will only be used for the purpose of public prosecution under criminal law and to combat threats in line with the applicable legislation.

3.2 External email addresses

The Ministry’s website also lists third party email addresses for various fields of expertise. These are email addresses that do not end in “@bmwi.bund.de” or "z-u-g.org". Should you choose to write to any of these email addresses, please note that the ministry has no responsibility regarding the processing of personal data transmitted to these addresses. If you have any questions about the way in which your personal data is handled by the relevant third party, please contact them.

3.3 Contacting IKI using the contact form

You can use the IKI's website and this form to contact the IKI Office. You can choose to indicate your address, so that we can answer your query by mail – if you expressly ask for this. The sender’s IP address will be recorded. The same is also true if you send a standard email to iki-office@z-u-g.org alongside the date and time of your query.

By ticking the box and dispatching the contact form, you declare your consent as per Article 6 (1) (e) GDPR to the transmission and storing of your personal data and your IP address. Your personal data will be processed and stored for the purpose of answering your query. The IP address will only be used for the purpose of public prosecution under criminal law and to combat threats in line with the applicable legislation.

If we receive a message from you via the contact form or via email, we assume that we have the right to respond via email. Otherwise, you must explicitly ask us to use another channel of communication.

Your query will be processed by our staff at the IKI Office team. Our expert divisions will support them as needed. The IKI Office team will store the data transmitted by you (e.g. name, first name, address), and all information contained in your email (including any personal data you transmit in this way) for the purpose of contacting you and answering your query; the information will be stored for the periods of time set out in the Registry Directive, which applies in conjunction with the Joint Rules of Procedure of the Federal Ministries. We would like to inform you that data is processed in line with Article 6(1) (e) GDPR in conjunction with Section 3 Federal Data Protection Act. We need to process the personal data you transmit so that we can answer your query.

If you give your consent in the contact form to have your query referred to other state and federal authorities if this is necessary to answer your query, such referral will be made in compliance with data protection rules.

If you do not wish to have your data processed, you can terminate the process of contacting us at any time prior to submitting your request. In this case, your data will not be stored. You can withdraw your consent. Any processing of data that takes place on the basis of your consent until receipt of the revocation continues to be lawful.

3.4 Contacting the IKI by post

If you write a letter to the IKI Office, the data transmitted by you (e.g. name, first name, address), and all information contained in your letter (including any personal data you transmit in this way) will be stored for the purpose of contacting you and answering your query. The data will be stored in accordance with the statutory time limits for retaining written records as per the Registry Directive, which applies in conjunction with the Joint Rules of Procedure of the federal ministries.
We would like to inform you that data is processed in line with Article 6(1) (e) GDPR in conjunction with Section 3 Federal Data Protection Act. We need to process the personal data you transmit so that we can answer your query.

3.5 Contacting the IKI Office by fax

If you send a fax to the IKI Office, the data transmitted by you (e.g. name, first name, address), and all information contained in your fax (including any personal data you transmit in this way)will be stored for the purpose of contacting you and answering your query; the information will be stored for the periods of time set out in the Registry Directive, which applies in conjunction with the Joint Rules of Procedure of the Federal Ministries. We would like to inform you that data is processed in line with Article 6(1) (e) GDPR in conjunction with Section 3 Federal Data Protection Act. We need to process the personal data you transmit so that we can answer your query.

3.6 Contacting the Ministry by phone

If you call the Ministry by phone, personal data will be processed to the extent that this is necessary for processing your query. We would like to inform you that data is processed in line with Article 6(1) (e) GDPR in conjunction with Section 3 Federal Data Protection Act.

3.7 Referral of queries that do not fall within the Ministry’s remit

If your query does not fall within the remit of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, we can refer the matter to other authorities at state and federal level without your consent and in line with data protection rules if we can assume that the transfer is in the person’s interest in terms of answering their query, and if no personal data of a sensitive nature is being transferred (Article 6 (1) (e) GDPR in conjunction with Section 3 Federal Data Protection Act; Section 25 (1) in conjunction with Section 23 (1) (1) Federal Data Protection Act).

The IKI is active on Twitter and YouTube.

We explicitly draw your attention to the fact that the services used by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action store user data (e.g. personal information, IP address etc.) in line with their own guidelines on data usage and use it for commercial purposes.The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action has no influence on the collection and use of data by social networks. We are unable to ascertain the extent, the location and the duration of the data capture, the extent to which the networks meet obligations to delete data, what evaluations and links pertaining to the data are made, and to whom data is forwarded.

• For information about the type of data processed by Twitter and for what purposes, consult their Privacy Policy
• For information about the type of data processed by YouTube and for what purposes, consult their Privacy Policy

As some of these companies are based outside the European Union with only one European office in Ireland, their legal interpretation is that they are not bound by European or German data protection rules. This also affects your right of information, the right to have data blocked or deleted, or the possibility to object to your user data being used for advertising purposes.

How and what type of personal data is processed will depend on the channels used to provide information. We distinguish between our newsletters, printed documents, and informational visits to the Ministry or the ZUG.

5.1 Data for newsletter distribution

If you subscribe to our newsletter, your email address, and the date and time of your subscription will be stored by us on a server. Your data is being processed on the basis of your consent as per Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR (consent). We use this data exclusively for distributing our newsletters and for statistical analyses designed to measure our system’s performance. We will not transmit your data to third parties who are not acting on our behalf for this purpose, and will not use them for any other internal purposes.

Our subscription system will ask you to confirm your subscription once more (double opt-in) to ensure that you explicitly wish to subscribe to this newsletter.

Upon subscription, your data will be stored on our server and a confirmation message containing a link to the second and final subscription will be automatically sent to the email address you indicated. Unless you confirm your subscription by using the link contained in this email, your data will be deleted after 48 hours.

Only once you have used the confirmation link will your data used for newsletter distribution be stored for as long as you use our newsletter.

Should you decide that you no longer agree to your data being stored for this purpose and that you do not want to use the newsletter service any longer, you can unsubscribe at any time. The data indicated by you will be deleted in this process, unless we are obliged to store it for a longer period of time. To unsubscribe, follow this link. You will need the email address you indicated when you subscribed to the newsletter.

You have the following rights with regard to the personal data concerning your person:

• Right of access, Art. 15 GDPR

The right of access confers on the data subject a comprehensive right of access to the data concerning his/her person and to certain important information-related criteria, such as the purposes for which it is processed or the duration for which it will be stored. The exceptions to this right regulated in Section 34 Federal Data Protection Act apply.

• Right to rectification, Art. 16 GDPR

The right of rectification includes the possibility for the data subject to have inaccurate personal data corrected.

• Right to erasure, Art. 17 GDPR

The right to erasure includes the possibility for the data subject to have data deleted by the party responsible. However, this is only possible if the personal data concerning his/her person are no longer needed, are processed unlawfully or if the relevant consent has been revoked. The exceptions to this right regulated in Section 35 Federal Data Protection Act apply.

• Right to restriction of processing, Art. 18 GDPR

The right to restrict the processing includes the possibility for the data subject to prevent further processing of personal data concerning his/her person for the time being. A restriction particularly occurs pending verification of the exercise of other rights of the data subject.

Right to object to collection, processing and/or use, Art. 21 GDPR
The right to object includes the possibility for data subjects to object, in a particular situation, to the further processing of their personal data, insofar as this is justified by the exercise of public functions or of public or private interests. The exceptions to this right regulated in Section 36 Federal Data Protection Act apply.

• Right to data portability, Art. 20 GDPR

The right to data portability includes the possibility for the data subject to obtain the personal data concerning his/her person from the person responsible in a standard, machine-readable format, in order to be able to forward them to another person responsible if necessary. According to Art. 20 (3) sentence 2 GDPR, however, this right does not apply if the data processing serves the performance of public tasks.

• Right to revoke consent, Art. 13 and 14 GDPR

If personal data is processed on the basis of consent, the data subject may revoke such consent at any time for the purpose for which it was given. The lawfulness of the processing undertaken on the basis of this consent remains unaffected until receipt of the revocation.
You can assert the aforementioned rights in writing using the contact details set out in Section 1.1.

Pursuant to Art. 77 GDPR, you also have the right to appeal to the data protection supervisory authority: the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (in German).

You can also contact the Ministry’s Data Protection Officers under Section 1.1 if you have any questions or complaints.