Data Protection Information

The following data protection information provides you with details about the personal data (Art. 4 No. 1 GDPR) processed by the American Canadian Grand Lodge AF&AM eV (hereinafter: ACGL) as the data controller (Art. 4 No. 7 GDPR) at https://823.acgl.online, as well as the purposes and legal bases on which this processing (Art. 4 No. 2 GDPR) takes place. With this information, ACGL also fulfills its data protection information obligations, which are incumbent upon the controller pursuant to Art. 12 and 13 GDPR when collecting data from the data subject, in this case the visitor to the website : https://823.acgl.online.
The Mount Moriah Two Bridges Nahe Lodge #823 is legally dependent and thus only represents a “local group” of the ACGL.

Information pursuant to Art. 13 GDPR

Identity of the controller:
For data collection at https://823.acgl.online, the ACGL is the controller within the meaning of Article 4 No. 7 GDPR. The association is represented by the Chairman (Grandmaster) Arda ÇILINGIR

The ACGL eV is registered in the Register of Associations at the Munich Local Court under registration number VR 204 910
The address of the association is:

American Canadian Grand Lodge AF&AM eV
Franz-Hammer-Str. 7
D-71263 Weil der Stadt, Germany
Email: gsec@acgl.eu

Data Protection Officer

Dr. Thomas H. Lenhard, LL.M., has been duly appointed as Data Protection Officer of the ACGL and is registered with the competent supervisory authority.
You can reach him at the following address:

Dr. Thomas H. Lenhard, LL.M. Data Protection Officer of the ACGL eV
Bergstraße 20
D-66976 Rodalben
or via email: privacy @ acgl.eu

Categories of personal data processed

  • Visitor data, IP addresses, device and domain data of visitors, date and time of a request, time zone difference to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), content of the request (specific page), access status/HTTP status code, amount of data transferred in each case, website from which the request originates, browser, operating system and its interface, language and version of the browser software, path of the requested resource, information about the success, redirection, or error status of the access.
  • Communication data, such as email address, telephone number, insofar as you provide this to us via the website’s contact form.
  • Contact and address data,such as title, first and last name, and any other personal data that you provide to us via a free text field in the website’s contact form.
  • Account data,if you wish to log in to the internal members’ area as a registered user

Purposes of processing

The collection and processing of personal data by the ACGL serves the following purposes:

  • Operation and optimization of the website
  • Public presentation of the individual lodges within the ACGL
  • Fulfillment of legal information, notification, disclosure, and retention obligations (in particular for documenting information pursuant to Article 13 GDPR)
  • Dissemination of information about Grand Lodges, Lodges, and Freemasonry in general
  • Member recruitment
  • Public image
  • Communication with members
  • Informing members and reporting on events
  • Coordination of dates
  • General communication
  • Linking to other Lodges or Masonic organizations
  • Ensuring data security
  • Investigation and prevention of cyberattacks
  • Defense against legal claims

Information on the origin of the data

Personal data is collected from the data subject (user of the website).

Legal basis for processing

For the collection of data on the website, Section 25 Paragraph 1 TDDDG (consent), as well as the exceptions in Section 25 Paragraph 2 TDDDG, are applicable.
Furthermore, the following legal bases for processing your data are applicable:
The existence of consent pursuant to Art. 6 I lit. a) GDPR, Art. 6 I lit. c) GDPR and Art. 6 I lit. f) GDPR, insofar as it concerns the pursuit of the aforementioned purposes of processing

Criteria for storage period

  • Personal data is processed until the purpose of collection or – in the case of further processing – the purpose of further processing has been fully achieved. The data is deleted once the purpose has been fully achieved.
  • Session cookies may be used within the scope of what is permissible under Section 25 Paragraph 2 of the German Telemedia Act (TDDG), in particular with regard to establishing a stable connection between the server and the end device or for the functioning of the website, which is based on a CMS. Session cookies are deleted when the session ends or the browser is closed.
  • Cookies are also used to implement a CDN network and thus to prevent at least certain attacks on the website
  • Persistent cookies are stored beyond the duration of a normal session. Storage depends on the purpose of the respective cookie. File information is available to you at any time via the Cookie Policy menu item. This is how, for example, your selection of a cookie consent solution is saved on your system. You can save your cookie settings at any time and thus also object to consent to optional cookies at any time. The settings are stored on your computer unless you suppress storage through your computer or browser settings. In this case, you will be asked about your preferences each time you visit the website.
  • Visitor/server data is deleted by the provider as soon as the purposes for processing and storage no longer apply.

Recipients of personal data

  • Officials and secretaries of the Grand Lodge and its member lodges
  • IT service providers
  • Representatives of legal professions
  • Cooperating Grand Lodges and Lodges
  • Authorities and courts, particularly in the case of legal disputes or the prevention and investigation of cyberattacks, as well as for the defense or enforcement of legal claims
  • Data Protection Officer (for complaints or concerns regarding data protection)

Information about the obligation to provide data by the data subject

The provision of personal data is partly required by law (e.g., according to tax law, anti-money laundering regulations). In principle, you can use this site without having to disclose your identity. If you do not wish us to know your identity, you should refrain from contacting us. We will not answer any inquiry without knowing who the recipient of our reply is. No one is obligated to provide us with any personal data. However, we are also not obligated to answer anonymous inquiries.
If the user area on the site is activated, it is exclusively available to members who are neither suspended nor in arrears with membership fees. Therefore, no anonymous access will be provided. Likewise, we cannot grant members access to the member area if they object to the processing of their personal data
In the interest of maximum data protection transparency, we will inform you separately of any obligations to provide information in individual cases before carrying out the specific data collection situation.

To contact the ACGL or a local lodge, it is not necessary to use the website’s contact form. You can alternatively send us an email or call us using the telephone number provided on the website. However, we refer again to the above statements regarding anonymous inquiries.

Your rights as a data subject

You have the following rights against ACGL eV pursuant to Articles 15 to 22 GDPR:

  • Right of access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, and data portability
  • Right to object to processing based on your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR) or on the legitimate interests of the controller or a third party (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR).
  • Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority
  • Pursuant to Article 77 of the GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you believe that the processing of your personal data is unlawful. The address of the supervisory authority responsible for ACGL is:

Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision
Promenade 18, D-91522 Ansbach

You can also contact us at any time. For inquiries, concerns, or complaints regarding data protection, please contact the Data Protection Officer of ACGL eV, Dr. Thomas H. Lenhard, LL.M. The Data Protection Officer represents the rights and interests of data subjects, including your rights. You can reach him via email:

privacy@acgl.eu

Further data protection information

Use of Cookies
A cookie is a small file that is stored on a visitor’s computer as soon as they access a website. A distinction is made between persistent cookies and session cookies. Insofar as cookies are essential to ensure the essential functions of the website, the associated data collection is based on Section 25 Paragraph 2 of the German Telemedia Act (TMG).
Recommendation: If you generally wish to prevent or restrict the setting of cookies and the collection of your personal data on the internet, ACGL eV recommends using a browser plugin such as “Ghostery” (https://www.ghostery.com/en/download), which allows you to selectively or completely block the activities of beacons, trackers, cookies, and similar technical methods for data collection across websites in your browser, or to generally automatically reject the setting of certain cookies for all websites.

Fonts
If the website uses optional functions that store data in cookies or transmit data to third parties, consent is obtained via an integrated cookie consent solution. While the website generally uses Google fonts, if you do not allow or actively block their use, the website will use standard fonts from your computer or browser. Since Google collects data when using these fonts, they can only be loaded after you have consented to their use in the integrated consent tool. You can revoke your consent at any time via the tool integrated into the website.

Google Maps
The aforementioned website also uses the “Google Maps” service provided by Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 USA, hereinafter referred to as “Google”. The cookie consent solution used initially prevents this cookie from being set until you have actively consented to the action. This means that no data is collected by Google in connection with Google Maps unless your active consent has been obtained beforehand. If you have given your consent, Google can collect data via this service and will also place persistent cookies on your system. You can change or withdraw your consent to the setting or use of cookies, as well as to the activation of the “Google Maps” service in general, at any time via the cookie settings (cookie policy).

You can also prevent the use of Google Maps by installing a tool (see our recommendation) or by adjusting your browser settings.

If Google collects your data via the service, it will be processed in accordance with the company’s terms of service:

https://www.google.de/intl/de/policies/terms/regional.html

and the additional terms and conditions for “Google Maps”
https://www.google.com/intl/de_de/help/terms_maps.html

If you have not initially consented to the use of Google Maps in the consent solution, embedded windows of this service will be displayed inactive. By clicking on the corresponding window, you can consent to the use of Google Maps and activate the window. These changes will be entered into the corresponding cookie as part of the consent solution’s settings storage.

The service provider “Google” is registered and certified according to the “Privacy Framework,” so the EU Commission’s adequacy decision for the USA applies to data processing by Google.

Contact form

On our website, we offer users the option of contacting us via a contact form. If you wish to use this option, we collect the following structured data as mandatory information:

  • Last name, first name
  • Email address
  • Your specific message to us
  • Confirmation that you have read the privacy policy and consent to the processing of your data.

The mandatory information collected via the contact form is used exclusively for the purpose of contacting the inquirer and answering specific inquiries.
In addition to the mandatory information, you have the option of voluntarily providing the following data:

  • Telephone number

By voluntarily providing your telephone number, you consent to us contacting you in this way. Data is processed only for the purposes for which you provide it to us. Once the processing purposes no longer apply, the data will be deleted. Statutory retention obligations are observed. You can object to the further use of your data at any time.

It is not necessary to enter personal data on our website to contact us. Instead, you have the option of contacting us via email.

Captcha
The CAPTCHA function integrated into the contact form is necessary to prevent misuse of the form by cybercriminals and spammers. The website currently uses the corresponding service from Google. Regarding the assurance of an adequate level of data protection, please refer to the information under the section “Google Maps.” The service is integrated into the website’s consent solution. When using this function, data is collected by Google. Use is only possible after explicit consent. This consent can be revoked at any time via the integrated consent tool.

Content Delivery Network
To ensure the accessibility and availability of the site and to protect it against cyberattacks, especially (D)DoS attacks, the website uses the functions of a CDN (Content Delivery Network). This generally involves the use of cookies and the distribution of data traffic across a large number of servers, meaning that server data, especially IP addresses, are transmitted to the respective provider. The integration of the CDN is technically necessary to guarantee the secure operation of the website. A solution from the UK-based company “Cookieyes” is used. Information on the company’s privacy policy can be found at: https://www.cookieyes.com/privacy-policy/

Server data (website is hosted by the provider)
The web server stores information about the resources accessed and the connections between the server and the user’s device in the form of log files. This storage typically includes software error logs, should any errors occur. This data is usually stored by the operator of the web server for technical reasons, to establish communication, and for the purpose of error detection, optimization of display, and transmission speed.
A statistical evaluation of the log files also usually takes place there, but only for the detection and prevention of cyberattacks. No further analyses are carried out, nor are user profiles generated or created. The website is hosted by the provider IONOS SE, Elgendorfer Str. 57,56410 Montabaur, Germany. The provider’s current privacy policy can be found at the following link:https://www.ionos.de/datenschutzerklaerung

The log files/server data are not used for any other purpose. In particular, no user profiles are created. ACGL eV has no access to the server data collected by the provider

Linked URLs / Social Networks
By clicking on the links available on this website to other websites (URL addresses), especially to so-called social networks, you will leave this website https://823.acgl.online

According to Section 19 (3) of the German Telemedia Act (TDDG), the redirection to another service provider must be indicated. This obligation is fulfilled by clearly identifying the links as such. When redirecting or linking to other websites, the technical implementation of the website is outside the responsibility of ACGL. It is expressly pointed out that such third-party providers may use so-called trackers, beacons, or cookies to analyze the browsing behavior of website visitors. In this regard, please refer to the privacy policy of the respective third-party provider. Furthermore, explicit reference is made here to the so-called Facebook ruling of the Schleswig-Holstein Administrative Court under file numbers 8 A 37/12, 8 A 14/12, and 8 A 218/11. ACGL e.V. has no influence on how the linked pages are configured or what data is collected there. Furthermore, ACGL e.V. has no access to data collected by third parties using cookies, trackers, beacons, or other methods.
Scripts or so-called plugins from social network providers are not integrated into https://823.acgl.online.

If external content can be accessed, it is accessible from https://823.acgl.online exclusively via standard links, regardless of whether it is a social network or not. Please assume that social network operators use cookies and tracking technologies. If you are already logged into a social network in another browser window and follow a corresponding link on our site to that network, you will generally be immediately identified there. We therefore explicitly refer you to the privacy policies of the respective providers.

Recommendation: ACGL eV. recommends that you use a browser plugin such as “Ghostery” (https://www.ghostery.com/en/download), which allows you to selectively or completely block the activities of beacons, trackers, cookies, and similar technical methods for data collection across websites in your browser.

Safeguarding your rights / Complaints regarding data protection

The Data Protection Officer ensures compliance with data protection regulations at ACGL eV and represents the rights of data subjects, including your rights.

Dr. Thomas H. Lenhard, LL.M., is duly appointed as Data Protection Officer of ACGL eV and registered with the competent supervisory authority

If you have any concerns, questions, or complaints regarding data protection at ACGL eV, please do not hesitate to contact the data protection officer immediately. The quickest way to reach them is by email:privacy@acgl.eu