#NotJustAnotherPrivacyPolicy
2-minute-read summary
Now, you want to know how we do not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk… But you find privacy policies long and full of legalese.
That’s why we provide you with this 2 minute-read summary. This summary will provide you with the necessary information and will get you up to speed in no time on how we at Acontrario process your personal data.
What is there to know:
First of all, we live and die by our mantra: your data will always be treated with the highest confidentiality!
When you contact us, make use of our services, hand over your business card or follow us on social media, we may collect some identity and contact details such as your name, email address, phone number, address, country or social media information. We may also collect professional identity details, such as information about your employer or company.
By applying for a job at AContrario, we collect the information you provide to us, such as identity and contact details, resume and cover letter.
By contacting us through any medium, we collect information about the communication you had with AContrario, including content and technical details.
Finally, we use cookies to collect information about your use of our website.
To offer you the best possible service in a safe manner while handling your needs!
Also, to answer your questions, advise you in legal and business matters and to assist you in contentious matters.
To evaluate your application.
Finally, to improve our website.
Only a specific part of the trustworthy AContrario team has access to your information. To further reassure you: we, as lawyers, are in any case bound by our professional secrecy to ensure the confidentiality of your data.
Furthermore, we use some suppliers and service providers, such as computer security and web hosting services. These parties are legally obliged to ensure your privacy at all times. They can only process your data in accordance with our purposes.
Finally, it may happen that a third party is commissioned to process data. However, they can only do this for aforementioned purposes and upon our instructions.
You can ask us at any moment to modify or erase your data. Just send us an email to info@acontrario.law. Follow the procedure as set forth below under Article 5 of the entire Privacy Policy.
Additionally, you can always request a copy of all the information we collected about you by sending an email to the same e-mail address.
We adopted all kinds of safety measures on a technical and an organizational level.
Your data is stored on a secured server within the EEA.
We implemented internal procedures to ensure the confidentiality of our IT-infrastructure and to make sure it is managed responsibly.
Want to know more?
As a die-hard, we invite you to read our entire Privacy Policy set out below, where everything is explained in detail. You will love it!
Version 2.0 – 10 February 2022
As a law firm specialized in data protection, evidently your privacy is very important to us. This privacy statement (hereinafter referred to as the "Privacy Policy") is designed to inform you about how we handle your personal information, which is any information relating to an identified or identifiable person (hereinafter referred to as "Personal Data"), and how you can exercise control over that information. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully as it contains your rights and obligations towards Acontrario.
Our Privacy Policy can be subject to future amendment and modification. In this event we will notify you with an invite to take a look at these changes, which will be clearly indicated in the Privacy Policy.
AContrario.law bvba, with registered office in Belgium, Stapelplein 70/104, 9000 Ghent, and registered at the CBE with number 0680.805.485, (hereinafter “AContrario”) and available via AContrario.law (hereinafter: the “Website”); takes responsibility for the processing of your Personal Data as a “data controller”.
The collection and processing of Personal Data is governed by strict conditions, enforced by the law. AContrario acts in accordance with :
The EU Regulation of 2016 concerning the protection of individuals with regards to the processing of personal data, regarding the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46/EC;
And/or (future) Belgian laws regarding the implementation of this Regulation.
This Privacy Policy is applicable, inter alia, to how we handle your Personal Data through our ‘’Services’’ being the designated definition in this Privacy Policy for providing innovative, specialized and personalized legal advice on commercial law, IP, IT and data protection, and the services following and linked to our ‘’Website’’.
You are not obliged to provide us with your Personal Data, however you must understand that we are not able to deliver you the Services in case you refuse to provide us with certain Personal Data.
AContario may collect and process some of your personal data, as set out below:
Category 1:
Your (professional) identity and contact data
Details:
Your first name, name, phone number, email address, address and country;
Information concerning your employer or company, such as company name, company address, invoice details and VAT-number;
Social media information, such as your username(s) on your social media.
Context:
By contacting us, via telephone, email or any other communication service;
By making use of our Services (e.g. when you enter into a contract with us as a client or supplier);
By subscribing to our newsletter;
By handing over your business card;
Via social media (e.g. when you like us or contact us via Facebook or Instagram).
Category 2:
Your data as an applicant
Details:
Your first name, name, phone number, email address, address, (optional) photo and country;
Your resume and cover letter.
Context:
You communicate these data by applying for a job at Acontrario.
Category 3:
Your communications through our Services
Details:
Information about the communication you had with AContrario, including technical details and content.
Context:
By contacting us, via telephone, email, our Website or any other communication service;
By making use of our Services and communicating with us in that context.
Category 4:
Your usage of our Services
Details:
Information such as browser features, information about actions related to the Website (such as usage, activity logs and click-throughs), domains, page views and device features (see Article 8).
Context:
We collect these data by placing cookies on your device when you visit our Website.
AContrario collects and processes your data to offer you the best possible service, in a safe manner, while handling your needs.
That being said, we will only use your Personal Data for the following purposes:
3.1 General purposes
Category 1:
Your (professional) identity and contact data
Legal basis:
Consent; or
Necessity for the performance of the agreement we have entered or are about to enter into with you as a party
Purpose:
Identity and contact data will be processed by AContrario in order to answer questions, provide information, advise you in legal and business matters and to assist you in contentious matters.
Category 2:
Your data as an applicant
Legal basis:
Consent
Purpose:
Applicant data will be processed by AContrario to evaluate your application and allow us to pursue a recruitment policy.
Category 3:
Your communications through our Services
Legal basis:
Consent; or
Necessity for the performance of the agreement we have entered or are about to enter into with you as a party
Purpose:
Communications with us via telephone, email, our Website or any other communication service will be processed in order to reply to your communication and/or questions, based on your consent.
Communications through our Services will be processed by AContrario to ensure that you can make optimal use of the Services (in accordance with the execution of the agreement).
Category 4:
Your usage of our services
Legal basis:
Legitimate interest; or
Consent (where necessary)
Purpose:
Usage of our Services will be used by AContrario to maintain the security of the Application and/or Services and to improve it, as well as to create statistics based on a ''legitimate interest'' of AContrario to improve the Website and/or Services.
With regard to the eventual use of non-essential cookies, we shall only process your data based upon your consent given in the cookie banner.
3.2 Direct marketing
Your Personal Data will only be used for direct marketing purposes if you give your consent or based upon our legitimate interest if we are in contact with you as a prospect or if we have already entered into an agreement with you.In case you have given your consent and you are added to AContrario’s direct mailing list, AContrario may use your Personal Data to send you marketing material as well as other material relating to AContrario and her Services.This consent can be revoked at all times, for free and without motivation, by clicking the unsubscribe button below every promotional e-mail.
3.3 Transfer to third parties
AContrario will not disclose your Personal Data to third parties, unless it is necessary in the context of providing our Services and/or optimising them. To that end, AContrario may disclose your Personal Data to third parties who assist AContrario in the execution, management and control of its activities, including reporting, support, marketing, computer security or offering specific services and/or products.
It may happen that a third party is commissioned to collect, process and/or analyse the data. These third parties may only use the data for the aforementioned purposes and upon the instructions of AContrario. Any other use is not included and is prohibited.
Consequently, AContrario will not sell, hire out or pass on your Personal Data to third parties, except in the situations provided for in this Policy or unless you explicitly provide prior consent.
AContrario has taken all appropriate legal and technical precautions to prevent unauthorised access and use.
In the event of total or partial reorganisation or transfer of AContrario's activities whereby AContrario reorganizes, transfers, transfers or in the event of AContrario being declared bankrupt, your Personal Data may be transferred to new entities or third parties. AContrario will inform you in advance of the fact that AContrario transfers your Personal Data to a third party.
3.4 Legal requirements
In extraordinary circumstances it may occur that AContrario is obliged to transfer your Personal Data following a court order, or in order to comply with imperative laws and/or regulations. AContrario will, if reasonably possible, try to inform you on beforehand, unless revealing this information is subject to legal constraints.
We will store and process your Personal Data for the period we’re legally obliged to do so, or for as long as this is essential for the purposes of the processing, as well as the contractual relationship between you and AContrario.
Retention period
Category 1:
We will keep your identity and contact data as long as it is necessary to communicate with you, which is never longer than five (5) years after the first request or contact. In case of a contractual relationship, we will not keep your identity data longer than ten (10) years after the end of the contractual relationship.
Category 2:
We will keep your data as an applicant no longer than five (5) years after the last qualitative contact with the applicant.
Category 3:
We keep your communications through our Services as long as it is necessary to communicate with you, which is never longer than three (3) years after the first request or contact. In case of a contractual relationship, we will not keep your communications through our Services longer than ten (10) years after the end of the contractual relationship.
Category 4:
With regards to cookies the retention period may vary depending on the specific cookie, ranging from end of the session to 2 years (see Article 8)
5.1 Right of access and right to obtain a copy
You have the right, at any moment, to freely obtain access to your personal data, as well as to be informed about the purpose of the processing by AContrario.
5.2 Right to rectification, erasure or restriction
You have the choice to share your personal data with AContrario.
You always have the right to ask us to amend and/or rectify your Personal Data.
You can also request the processing of your Personal Data to be restricted if you think that your data is inaccurate and you subsequently notified us about this.
In addition, you have the right to ask AContrario to erase your data, as far we were not able to anonymise it.
Furthermore, you acknowledge that when you refuse to share your Personal Data or request the erasure of your Personal Data, this will make the delivery of several AContrario Services impossible.
5.3. Right to object
You have the right to object to the processing of your Personal Data when you have serious and legitimate reasons to do so.
You also have the right to object to the use of your Personal Data for purposes of direct marketing. In such case specific reasoning will not be requested.
5.4. Right to data portability
You have the right to obtain your Personal Data which is processed by AContrario in a structured, commonly used format and/or to transfer this data to another data controller.
5.5. Right to withdraw consent
When the processing of your Personal Data is based on your prior consent you have the right to withdraw this consent.
5.6. Automated decisions and profiling
You have the right to request us not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you.
5.7 Exercising your rights:
You can exercise your rights by contacting us with a copy of your ID as attachment,
Either through email to info@acontrario.law
Or by mail to:
AContrario.Law
Stapelplein 70/104,
9000 Ghent
Belgium
5.8. Right to file a complaint:
You have the right to file a complaint with the Belgian Data Protection Authority:
Data Protection Authority
Drukpersstraat 35,
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Tel +32 (0)2 274 48 00
Fax +32 (0)2 274 48 35,
e-mail: contact@apd-gba.be
This does not affect a procedure before the civil court.If you are from an EU member state other than Belgium, you can also complain to your national data protection authority. You can find a list of national supervisory authorities within the EU on the following webpage: ec.europa.eu. If you have suffered damages caused by the processing of your Personal Data, you can file a claim for damages.
We have adopted safety measures which are suited on a technical, organisational and physical level to avoid the destruction, the loss, the forgery, the adjustment, the non-authorised access or the notification of the Personal Data by accident to a third party, as well as the non-authorised processing of these data. Nevertheless, if these events would occur and would affect your Personal Data, AContrario will inform you of such breach without undue delay, including a summary description of the potential impact and a recommendation on measures to mitigate the possible adverse effects of the breach.
Examples of safety measures adopted by AContrario include:
(Physical/Digital) Access control systems;
Password management systems;
Internal Privacy and Information Security Policies; and
Secure data storage within the EEA.
AContrario shall not be liable in any way for direct or indirect damages caused by a wrongfully or improper use of the Personal Data by a third party.
AContrario shall not be liable in any way for direct or indirect damages caused by a wrongfully or improper use of the Personal Data by a third party.
At the same time, you also share responsibility for maintaining the privacy and security of the Services, for example: by not allowing any third party to have insight in confidential communication.
This Privacy Policy is managed, interpreted and executed in accordance with Belgian law which exclusively applies to every potential dispute.
The courts and tribunals of Gent, unless applicable law imperatively prescribes another court or tribunal, have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute arising out of or in connection to the interpretation or execution of the present Privacy Policy.
8.1. What are cookies?
A "cookie" is a small file sent by AContrario's server and placed on your computer's hard drive. The information stored on these cookies can only be read by AContrario and only for the duration of the visit to the Website.
8.2. Why do we use cookies?
Our Website uses cookies and similar technologies to distinguish your preferences for use from those of other users of our Website. This helps us to provide you with a better user experience when you visit our Website and also allows us to optimise our Website.
All websites that target certain parts of the European Union are required to obtain your consent to the use or storage of cookies and similar technologies on your computers or mobile devices. This cookie policy gives you clear and complete information about the cookies we use and their purpose.
The cookies we use are safe. The information we collect using cookies helps us to identify any errors or to show you specific services that might be of interest for you.
8.3 Which cookies do we use?
Although there are different types of cookies, different in terms of functionality, origin or retention period, AContrario only uses essential/strictly necessary cookies.
These cookies are necessary for the Website to function and cannot be disabled in our systems. They are usually set only in response to actions you have taken, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling out forms. They are necessary for good communication and facilitate navigation (e.g. returning to a previous page, etc.).
8.4. Your consent
Normally, on your first visit to a website, you will be asked to accept the different types of cookies. Since AContrario only uses essential/strictly necessary cookies on our Website, your consent is not necessary, and hence will not be asked.
8.5 Managing cookies
You can refuse or block cookies by changing the configuration parameters of your navigation system. Disabling cookies may mean that you will not be able to use certain functionalities of the Website.
For more information on how to set your browser, please refer to the following links:
Google Chrome
Safari
Internet Explorer
Mozilla Firefox
Currently, some browsers offer a "do not track" or "DNT" option that sends a signal to the websites visited to indicate a visitor's tracking preference. AContrario is not currently responding to these signals, as no common industry standard for DNT has been adopted by industry groups, technology companies or regulators. The third parties that place cookies on our website may or may not do anything in response to this signal.
Please note that changing the settings may cause a website to not work as expected.
More information about cookies can also be found via the following link: allaboutcookies.org
More information about online behavioural advertising and online privacy can be found via the following link: youronlinechoices.eu
