Privacy Policy

We take data protection and confidentiality seriously and comply with the applicable data protection laws. Nevertheless, please read the following privacy notices carefully before submitting a report.

Information on the collection of personal data

Personal data means any information relating to you personally, such as your name, address, email addresses, or user behavior. (Art. 4 No. 1 Regulation (EU) 2016/679, hereinafter: GDPR)

Controller responsible for data protection

The controller responsible for data protection pursuant to Art. 4 No. 7 GDPR is:

Kanzlei Thiel von Herff | Rechtsanwälte
Loebellstr. 4
D-33602 Bielefeld
Tel. +49 521 557 333 00
Email: info(at)thielvonherff.de

Data security

Personal data and information entered into the whistleblower system are transmitted using SSL encryption. Access to the data is only possible for Kanzlei Thiel von Herff | Rechtsanwälte. This also applies to the transmission of information by email via the contact form or directly to info(at)thielvonherff.de. Third parties have no access to the data. This is ensured in the process through comprehensive technical and organizational measures. Access is limited to a very small group of expressly authorized persons at Kanzlei Thiel von Herff | Rechtsanwälte.

Type of personal data collected

Use of the reporting form is voluntary. If you submit a report via the whistleblower system, we collect the following personal data and information:

• your name, if you disclose your identity
• your employer
• where applicable, names of persons
• where applicable, other personal data of the persons you mention in your report.

When you contact us by email or via a contact form, the data you provide — your email address and, where applicable, your name and telephone number — will be stored by us in order to answer your questions.

Purpose of the whistleblower system

This website primarily serves to receive and process reports of violations in the areas of sport, business, and corruption in a secure and confidential manner.

Confidential handling of reports

Incoming reports are received and treated confidentially by the external trusted lawyer Dr. Thiel von Herff or another lawyer from Kanzlei Thiel von Herff | Rechtsanwälte. The trusted lawyer examines the facts of the case. In the course of processing a report or conducting a special investigation, it may be necessary to forward reports to third parties. These third parties may also be located in countries outside the European Union or the European Economic Area, where different regulations for the protection of personal data may apply. We ensure that the relevant data protection provisions are complied with when reports are forwarded. Every person who receives access to the data is obliged to maintain confidentiality.

Information on sending attachments

When submitting a report or sending additional information, you have the option of sending attachments to the trusted lawyer. If you wish to submit a report anonymously, please note the following security information: files may contain hidden personal data that could compromise your anonymity. Remove this data before sending the files. If you are unable to remove this data or are unsure, copy the text of your attachment into your report or send the printed document anonymously, quoting the file reference if available.

Retention period for personal data

We delete personal data once storage is no longer necessary, or restrict processing if statutory retention obligations apply. Personal data transmitted via the whistleblower system will be retained for as long as required for clarification and final assessment. After the processing of the report has been completed, this data will be deleted in accordance with statutory requirements.

Your rights

You have the following rights vis-à-vis us with regard to the personal data concerning you:

– right of access, unless attorney-client privilege is affected,
– right to rectification or erasure,
– right to restriction of processing,
– right to object to processing,
– right to data portability.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority regarding the processing of your personal data by us.

Use of this website

Communication between your computer and the server takes place via an encrypted connection (SSL). The IP address of your computer is not stored during use of the whistleblower portal. To maintain the connection between your computer and the server, a cookie is stored on your computer that contains only the session ID, known as a null cookie. The cookie is valid only until the end of your session and becomes invalid when you close your browser. This allows you to send reports to the trusted lawyer by name or anonymously and securely. In this system, the data is stored exclusively in the whistleblower system and is therefore especially secure; it is not ordinary email communication.

When using the website purely for informational purposes, meaning if you do not register or otherwise provide us with information, we collect only the personal data that your browser transmits to our server. If you wish to view our website, we collect the following data, which is technically necessary for us to display our website to you and to ensure stability and security. The legal basis is Art. 6(1) sentence 1 lit. f GDPR:

– IP address
– date and time of the request
– time zone difference to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
– content of the request, meaning the specific page
– access status / HTTP status code
– amount of data transferred in each case
– website from which the request comes
– browser
– operating system and its interface
– language and version of the browser software.

In addition to the data mentioned above, cookies are stored on your computer when you use our website. Cookies are small text files stored on your hard drive and assigned to the browser you use, through which certain information is transmitted to the party setting the cookie, in this case us. Cookies cannot execute programs or transmit viruses to your computer. They serve to make the internet offering as a whole more user-friendly and effective.

You can configure your browser settings according to your preferences and, for example, refuse to accept third-party cookies or all cookies. Please note that you may not be able to use all functions of this website. We use a cookie to identify you on subsequent visits if you have consented to the use of cookies on the homepage. Otherwise, you would have to give your consent again on each visit.

Furthermore, session cookies are created when using the pages. These store a so-called session ID, with which various requests from your browser can be assigned to the same session. This allows your computer to be recognized when you return to our website. These cookies are deleted when you log out or close your browser.

jQuery libraries, Google Fonts, and Google Maps

Ajax and jQuery technologies are used on this site. Google Fonts and a map via Google Maps are also integrated. For this purpose, corresponding program libraries or map content are accessed from Google servers. We therefore point out that the use of these services may involve access to external Google servers, and that Google may store your IP address. The same applies to JavaScript elements that may be loaded from Google servers.

You can deactivate the Google Maps service and thereby prevent data transfer to Google by disabling JavaScript in your browser. However, we would like to point out that you will then no longer be able to use the map display.

By using this website without disabling the JavaScript function, you expressly declare that you are aware of the data protection implications and that you consent to the data collection enabled by Google.

Processors

For the maintenance and functioning of our IT systems, we sometimes use external service providers. These providers have been carefully selected and commissioned by us, are obliged to maintain confidentiality, are bound by our instructions, are regularly monitored, and receive access to our data systems only to the extent absolutely necessary for maintenance and functionality.

Objection to or withdrawal of consent for the processing of your data

If you have given consent to the processing of your data, you may withdraw this consent at any time. Such withdrawal affects the lawfulness of the processing of your personal data after you have notified us of it.

If the processing of your personal data is not based on consent but on another legal basis, you may object to this data processing.

When exercising such an objection, we ask you to state the reasons why we should not process your personal data as carried out by us. In the event of your justified objection, we will examine the situation and either stop or adjust the data processing, or inform you of our compelling legitimate grounds on the basis of which we will continue the processing.

Of course, you may object to the processing of your personal data for data analysis purposes at any time. Notification to the contact options stated above under “Controller and Data Security” is sufficient.

Use of our contact details by third parties

The use by third parties of contact details published as part of the legal notice obligation for the purpose of sending unsolicited advertising and information materials is hereby expressly objected to. The website operator expressly reserves the right to take legal action in the event of unsolicited advertising information being sent, for example by spam emails.

Version: 01/01/2025.