Information on data protection in accordance with Article 13 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Information about the website/platform "openTA" (https://openta.net/)
With the following information, we (the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)) provide you with an overview of the processing of your personal data in connection with the platform https://openta.net/ and your rights under data protection law. According to Art. 4 No. 1 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), personal data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.
We have commissioned ?FIZ Karlsruhe ? Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastructure GmbH? (Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen) to handle technical operations. We have carefully selected this partner and bound them by contract. The data processor in question works exclusively according to our instructions. We ensure this through strict contractual regulations, technical and organisational measures, and supplementary controls.
You can generally use the openTA.net web portal without providing any personal information. If you are a personal or institutional member of the TA network, you can set up an online user account, for which we will collect personal data from you (see 5.).
Overview
1. Controller and Data Protection Officer
2. Accessing the website and server log files
3. Collection and evaluation of usage data for statistical purposes (web analysis with Matomo)
4. Cookies
5. Personal and institutional members (registration and use of the web portal)
6. Network TA mailing list
7. Personal metadata
8. Information about the disclosure of personal data
9. Information on data security
10. Contact (e-mail, telephone, form)
11. Your rights
12. Contact details for other questions
Content information
1. Controller and Data Protection Officer
The controller responsible for data processing within the meaning of the GDPR (Art. 4 No. 7) and other data protection regulations is:
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Kaiserstrasse 12
76131 Karlsruhe
Germany
Tel.: +49 721 608-0
Fax: +49 721 608-44290
Email: info?kit.edu
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology is a public corporation. It is represented by its respective president.
You can contact our data protection officer at datenschutzbeauftragte?kit.edu or by post, adding ?Die Datenschutzbeauftragte? (The Data Protection Officer) to the address.
2. Accessing the website and server log files
Scope and purpose: When using the openTA.net web portal, the following information is stored in a log file by default:
? IP address used
? If you have logged in: user ID
? Operating system used
? Browser used
? Pages visited
? Search queries, if applicable
? Date and time of access
? Amount of data sent and received in bytes
? Address of the website from which you accessed the page (?referrer?)
? If applicable, email/delivery address based on the relevant legal basis and separate terms and conditions of business or use
The data is used for the technical optimisation of the website and to ensure the security of our information technology systems. This means that we use the data in the log files
1. to be able to trace the use of our digital offerings by the affected customers in the event of a malfunction, in order to isolate the error, and
2. to trace the corresponding actions of the affected users in the event of concrete indications of illegal use of our digital offerings.
Furthermore, the usage data recorded in log files, in particular the IP address, is not used.
Legal basis: The legal basis for processing is Art. 6(1)(e) and (3)(b) of the GDPR in conjunction with Section 4 of the LDSG and Section 20(1) of the KITG in conjunction with Section 12(1) of the LHG.
Storage period: We delete the log files and the information they contain after 90 days at the latest. This does not apply if there are concrete indications of illegal use of our digital offerings. In this case, the data will be stored until the case has been clarified.
3. Collection and evaluation of usage data for statistical purposes (web analysis with Matomo)
Scope and purpose: We use the open source software ?Matomo? for the statistical evaluation of visitor traffic on openta.net. When you visit our digital offerings, we use ?Matomo? to store the following information in a database by default:
? IP address used in anonymised form
? Operating system used
? Browser used (with language settings, screen resolution, plug-ins used and operating system)
? Pages visited with date and time of access
? Names of any documents you may have downloaded from our pages
? Amount of data sent and received in bytes
? Address of the website from which our digital offerings were accessed (?referrer?)
? Address of the website to which our digital offerings link (?outlink?)
We operate Matomo in a version that does not require cookies. This means that no Matomo cookies are stored on your computer for the purpose of web analysis. Only the technically necessary log data (see above and under section 2) is used to analyse website usage. The software is set up so that IP addresses are not stored in full, but rather 2 bytes of the IP address are masked (e.g. 192.168.xxx.xxx). This means that it is no longer possible to assign the truncated IP address to the requesting computer. We ensure that the data relating to the individual pages accessed on our digital offerings (usage data) is anonymised immediately after access.
We use the anonymised data exclusively for statistical evaluation and to improve our digital offerings by
1. collecting statistical information about overall usage,
2. analysing the general use of individual pages,
3. and evaluating information about the operating systems and web browsers used by customers to ensure an optimal user experience.
We do not determine the location from which you access our digital offerings (?geolocation?). We only use the primary language setting of your browser to make a rough assignment by country.
Recipient: The software runs exclusively on the website's servers. Users' personal data is only stored there. The data is not passed on to third parties.
Legal basis: The legal basis for processing is Article 6(1)(e) and Article 6(3)(b) of the GDPR in conjunction with Section 4 of the LDSG.
Storage period: The data will be deleted as soon as it is no longer required for our recording purposes. In our case, this is after one year.
Tip: You can prevent Matomo from being used by unchecking the following box: [Matomo iFrame]. In this case, an opt-out cookie will be stored in your browser, which prevents Matomo from storing usage data. If you delete your cookies, the Matomo opt-out cookie will also be deleted. The opt-out must be reactivated when you visit our site again. You can disable or restrict the storage of cookies by changing the settings in your internet browser. Most modern browsers have a so-called ?Do Not Track? option that tells websites not to track your user activity. We have configured Matomo to respect this option. Matomo respects this option.
4. Cookies
Scope and purpose (including storage period): In addition to the aforementioned data, cookies are stored on your computer when you use our website. Cookies are text files that are stored on your computer by the browser you are using and through which certain information is transmitted to us (the server of our website). We use technically necessary cookies (?session cookies?), which we describe below.
These cookies are essential for the functionality of our services (especially News section and the OpenStreetMap map service). They allow us to enable so-called ?sessions? in which you can perform sequential actions. These cookies are automatically deleted at the end of a session (by closing the tab or browser you used to access our digital offering). The following data is stored and transmitted in the cookies we use:
? IP address of the accessing computer
? (upon registration) User ID
? Operating system used
? Browser and browser version
? Pages visited
? (if applicable) Search queries
? Date and time of access
? Amount of data transferred (bytes)
? Referrer URL (previously visited page)
? Session cookie (for session management; deleted when the browser is closed)
? Language cookie (for correct display of the selected language setting)
Legal basis: The legal basis for the processing of personal data using technically necessary cookies within the meaning of Section 25 (2) TDDDG is Article 6 (1) (e), (3) (b) GDPR in conjunction with Section 4 LDSG and Section 20 (1) KITG in conjunction with Section 12 (1) LHG.
5. Personal and institutional members (registration and use of the web portal)
Scope and purpose: You can register as a personal or institutional member on the openTA.net web portal. To do so, you need a user account, which you can set up yourself by registering online. We ask for the following personal data:
? First and last name
? Organisation (optional)
? City (optional)
? Email
? GND ID (optional)
? ORCID ID (optional)
We use this information to
? offer a publicly accessible expert database and
? enable you to publish blog posts under your name on openTA.net.
In addition to the personal data already mentioned, members have the option of adding the following information to their profile when registering (optional):
? Middle name
? Academic title
? Upload a profile picture
? Organisation
? Field of work
? Address
? Telephone number
? Website
Legal basis: During registration, we therefore ask for your consent to the publication of your personal data. You can revoke this consent at any time for the future. The legal basis for the aforementioned use can be found in Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR.
Recipient: Our data processor discloses to us (KIT/Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis) the data collected on personal and institutional members within the scope of order processing/service provision.
Storage period: You can delete your profile yourself or request its deletion at any time. This will permanently delete the existing data.
6. Network TA mailing list
Scope and purpose: You can join a mailing list to receive news about the TA network and the openTA.net web portal. Joining the mailing list is voluntary and not linked to personal or institutional membership of the TA network. The mailing list is operated by DFN-Verein e. V., Alexanderplatz 1, 10178 Berlin. The DFN-Verein's privacy policy can be found here: https://www.listserv.dfn.de/static-sympa/Datenschutz_DFN-List.html.
Joining the TA Network mailing list is voluntary. If you give your consent, your personal details will be used exclusively for the purposes of the mailing list.
Legal basis: The legal basis for processing is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR), if given.
You have the right to withdraw your consent to join the mailing list at any time for the future. To do so, follow the instructions provided by the mailing list provider. Please note that you will no longer be able to use the mailing list after you have withdrawn your consent.
Storage period: Personal data will be stored for as long as necessary for the above-mentioned purposes, i.e. we will store the data for as long as consent for this exists.
7. Personal metadata
Scope and purpose: In the openTA web portal, we process metadata from scientific publications (including data publications). Metadata describes a publication in order to identify it and make it easy to find. This metadata also contains personal information that has been published by the individuals concerned themselves or that we obtain from publicly accessible sources, namely:
? Names of authors or data creators
? Persistent, unique personal identifiers (e.g. ORCID, VIAF, GND ID, WikiData ID)
? Institutional affiliation of the persons concerned
? Hyperlinks to authors' academic websites
This personal metadata is usually processed together with other, non-personal descriptive metadata (such as publication title, summary, rights holder). The purposes of data processing and publication are, in particular
? supporting scientific discourse,
? searching for and delivering publications,
? recognising and correctly attributing scientific achievements,
? archiving global research knowledge, and
? permanently providing descriptive metadata as research data sets.
The descriptive metadata is processed for scientific research and archiving purposes and is necessary for the fulfilment of the specific purposes mentioned above. Consequently, the data subject only has the right to object if this arises from a particular situation of the data subject and the interests, fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject outweigh the legitimate interest mentioned above.
We are always interested in correcting incorrect metadata and completing incomplete metadata records where necessary. We are therefore very grateful for any information you can provide about errors and omissions that need to be corrected. Please contact us by email at: info@openta.net
Legal basis: The legal basis for the processing and publication of the data is Article 6(1)(e) and (3)(b) of the GDPR in conjunction with Section 4 of the LDSG.
Storage period: All metadata is stored permanently for the purpose of providing the service. This means that the metadata generally remains in the openTA web portal for as long as the web portal exists/is operated. If the metadata belongs to registered users, point 5 applies. The data can be deleted independently or when the profile is deleted.
8. Information about the disclosure of personal data
1. Personal data already published by you or third parties
Depending on the digital offering, we make descriptive metadata on scientific publications and research data available to the public via websites, data interfaces (APIs) and as complete downloads in various machine-readable data formats.
2. Personal data not yet published
Your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties for their marketing or other business purposes (e.g. sale) without your express consent. Please note that websites of other providers that you access via our digital offerings may request personal data from you. The privacy policy does not extend to the websites of these providers.
Personal data will only be transferred to government institutions and authorities if required by law, in particular to avert threats to state or public security or to prosecute criminal offences.
Furthermore, the controller reserves the right to use your data to assert or defend against legal claims.
9. Information on data security
? The openTA web portal is protected against loss, misuse or unauthorised changes by appropriate security measures. These include: Encryption of data transmission between your device and our digital services,
? Protection of our computer systems by modern firewall systems,
? Regular security updates,
? Regular data backups and
? Access and access controls.
We endeavour to protect your personal data in the best possible way in accordance with the provisions of the relevant data protection laws. Please note, however, that when data is transmitted via the Internet, it is never possible to guarantee complete protection against access by third parties.
Act carefully and responsibly in your own interests when you are online and ensure that your personal information is not accessible to unauthorised third parties.
10. Contact (e-mail, telephone, form)
Scope and purpose: When you contact us by e-mail, telephone or via a form, the contact details you provide, such as your e-mail address, telephone number and, if applicable, your name, will be stored for the purpose of processing and responding to your enquiry.
We would like to point out that data transmission over the Internet (e.g. when communicating by e-mail) may be subject to security vulnerabilities. It is not possible to completely protect data from access by third parties.
Recipients: If necessary to respond to your enquiry, personal data may be forwarded to relevant departments within KIT. The responsible KIT employees will use your personal data exclusively for the purpose of processing your enquiry. The data will not be disclosed to third parties.
Legal basis: The legal basis for the processing of this data is Art. 6(1)(e) and (3)(b) of the GDPR in conjunction with Section 4 of the LDSG, Section 20(1) of the KITG in conjunction with Section 12(1) of the LHG and other relevant legal provisions.
Storage period: Personal data will be stored for as long as necessary to fulfil the above-mentioned purpose, i.e. the data will be deleted when it can be assumed that further exchange is no longer desired.
11. Your rights
With regard to the personal data concerning you, you have the following rights vis-à-vis us:
? Right to withdraw your consent with effect for the future, provided that the processing is based on consent pursuant to Article 6(1)(a) GDPR (Article 7(3) GDPR)
? Right to confirmation as to whether data concerning you is being processed and to information about the data processed, further information about data processing and copies of the data (Article 15 GDPR)
? Right to rectification or completion of inaccurate or incomplete data (Article 16 GDPR)
? Right to immediate erasure of data concerning you (Article 17 GDPR)
? Right to restriction of processing (Article 18 GDPR)
? Right to receive the data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, provided that the processing is based on consent pursuant to Article 6(1)(a) or Article 9(2)(a) or on a contract pursuant to Article 6(1)(b) (Article 20 GDPR)
? Right to object to the future processing of data concerning you, provided that the data is processed in accordance with Article 6(1)(e) or (f) GDPR (Article 21 GDPR)
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority regarding the processing of your personal data by KIT (Article 77 GDPR). The supervisory authority within the meaning of Article 51(1) GDPR for KIT is, in accordance with Section 25(1) LDSG:
The State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information in Baden-Württemberg (https://www.baden-wuerttemberg.datenschutz.de/).
12. Contact details for other questions
If you have any further questions about this privacy policy, the openTA web portal or its use, please send an email to: info@openta.net
As of September 2025
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