Privacy Policy

At Friends of the Earth Malta (‘FoEM’ or ‘we’), we are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy outlines how, within the scope of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we collect, use, disclose, and protect the information you provide to us when you use our website, interact with us electronically, or participate in our programs and events.

1. Data Controller

Friends of the Earth Malta acts as the data controller for the personal data it collects. Our contact details are provided at the end of this policy.

2. Information We Collect

We collect personal data from individuals in various ways, including but not limited to:

• Information provided voluntarily by individuals when they register for our services, events, or newsletters.
• Photographs and videos taken during events organised by FoEM, which photographs and videos may be edited, copied, exhibited, published or distributed for the lawful purposes indicated in this Privacy Policy, and over which the data subjects do not enjoy rights to inspect or approve the finished product, nor do data subjects enjoy rights to royalties or other compensation arising or related to the use of the photographs and videos.
• Comments – when individuals leave comments on FoEM’s website, we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection. An anonymised string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service Privacy Policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
• Media – if you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
• Cookies – if you leave a comment on our website you may opt in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year. If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser. When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed. If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
• Embedded content from other websites – articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

3. Legal Basis for Processing

We will only process personal data when we have a legal basis to do so under the GDPR. This may include:

• The individual has given consent for the processing of their personal data for one or more specific purposes.
• Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the individual is a party or in order to take steps at the request of the individual prior to entering into a contract.
• Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which Friends of the Earth Malta is subject.
• Processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by Friends of the Earth Malta or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual.

4. Purposes of Processing

We may process personal data for the following purposes:

• To provide individuals with the products, services, and information they request from us.
• To communicate with individuals and send them updates, newsletters, and other information about our organization, programs, and events.
• To promote future events organised by Friends of the Earth Malta, which promotion may be carried out through upload of photographs and videos taken during FoEM events on FoEM’s social media platforms and website or through the publication of educational material.
• To improve our website, programs, and services based on feedback and usage patterns.
• To analyze trends, track user engagement, and measure the effectiveness of our campaigns.
• To comply with legal and regulatory requirements.

5. Data Security

We implement appropriate organizational measures to ensure the security of personal data and protect it against unauthorized or unlawful processing and accidental loss, destruction, or damage.

6. Data Subject Rights

Under the GDPR, individuals have certain rights regarding their personal data, including the right to:

• Access their personal data and obtain information about how it is processed.
• Rectify inaccurate personal data or complete incomplete personal data.
• Erase their personal data in certain circumstances, such as when it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and as long as we are not obliged to keep the data for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
• Restrict the processing of their personal data under certain conditions.
• Object to the processing of their personal data in certain circumstances, such as for direct marketing purposes.
• Withdraw their consent for the processing of personal data.
• Data portability, allowing individuals to obtain and reuse their personal data for their own purposes across different services.

Individuals can exercise these rights by contacting us using the contact details provided at the end of this policy.

7. Data Transfers

Transfer of certain data to third parties may be required from time to time, such as the verification of visitor comments on our website through an automated spam detection service.  In such cases, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect the personal data. 

8. Data Retention

We will retain personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. 

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognise and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.

For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

9. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify individuals of any material changes by posting the updated policy on our website or through other appropriate channels.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at:
Friends of the Earth Malta (VO/0091)
Xatt ic-Cangatura, Floriana, Malta FRN 1260
info@foemalta.org
+356 7996 1460

Effective Date: 1st September 2024

By using our website or providing us with your personal data, you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal data as described in this Privacy Policy.