The ICTV and your Privacy

Your privacy matters. Below we provide information on who we are, the data we collect, how we use that data, and what you can do to have your data removed.

  1. Who we are

The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) has been charged by the Virology Division of the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) with the task of developing, refining, and maintaining a universal virus taxonomy.

  1. What we collect

The personal information we collect when you register on our web site is restricted to your name, email address, degree, country, institution, and title. We also collect any additional information that you may provide in posts on discussion groups, wikis, blogs, or in uploaded files such as taxonomy proposals.

We also use Google Analytics to collect statistical information on the use of our web site. This is collected for everyone visiting our site irrespective of whether you are logged into your ICTV account. This information does not contain your name, email address, or other related personal information. It does contain data such as your IP address, geographic location, date and time of access, browser data, and the pages on the ICTV web site that have been accessed. Information on what Google Analytics collects and how it works can be found using this link to Google.

The ICTV also occasionally uses third-party websites to conduct online polls or votes. These sites typically collect information limited to a subset of data you already provided to ICTV, such as your name, email address and IP address. ICTV deletes all this information from those sites as soon as the poll is closed, and does not share it with any other entities.

  1. How we handle your personal information

The ICTV respects the privacy of its members and website users and aims to act consistently within the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) guidelines. Our web and database server is hosted by Amazon Web Services in their Northern Virginia, USA location. All of your information is stored in the ICTV database (your password is encrypted) and all information is encrypted using the secure https protocol during communications between our server and your web browser. Your data is not used by or distributed to any other entity or any individual other than ICTV Executive Committee members for the purpose of ICTV-related activities, or by ICTV staff who maintain the computer systems that run our web site and database.

  1. Accessing your personal information

You can export all of the data we have about you by navigating to your settings (select ‘Settings’ from the drop-down menu under your user icon in the upper-right corner of the ICTV web page) and clicking on the “Request export” link.

  1. How to have your information removed

If you would like us to delete your information, please send an email to delete@ictv.global using the subject header: Delete my ICTV account. Please provide the name and email address you used when registering on the ICTV web site.

  1. Why we collect information

Your information is only collected for the purpose of supporting ICTV activities such as compiling the mailing list we use for newsletters and announcements. Registration also provides you with permission to participate in our discussion group forums.

  1. What is our legal basis for processing your personal data?

Our lawful basis for processing your general personal data falls under article 6 of GDPR. We will ask for your consent to use your data when you fill out and submit a registration form for an ICTV account.

  1. Maintaining the accuracy of data

You can correct or update personal data by sending us an email at help@ictv.global or by logging in and accessing your profile or settings from the drop-down menu under your user icon in the upper-right corner of the ICTV web page.

  1. Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites run by other organizations. This privacy policy applies only to our website‚ so we encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit. We cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of other sites even if you access them using links from our website.

In addition, if you were linked to our website from a third-party site, we cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of the owners and operators of that third-party site and recommend that you check the policy of that third-party site.

  1. Ages 16 or Under

We protect the privacy of children aged 16 or under. We do not process any data for those under the age of 16 without their parents/guardian’s explicit permission. If you are aged 16 or under‚ please get permission from your parent or guardian before submitting data on the ICTV web site.

  1. Use and disclosure

The ICTV policy is not to disclose any of your personal information to any third party, except where you have given your express consent for us to do so or where required by law. When you contact us through one of our forms, we either store this information in our database, or within your email message that is stored in our email system both in the cloud and locally.

  1. Cookies

This site uses cookies – small text files that are placed on your machine to help the site provide a better user experience. In general, our cookies are used in the following ways:

  • To retain user preferences so that we can provide you with a more personalized experience.
  • To measure how often you visit our site and how you use our site. This information is used to get a better sense of how our users engage with us and how we can improve our web site in the future.

As a rule, cookies will make your browsing experience better. However, you may prefer to disable cookies on this site and on others. The most effective way to do this is to disable cookies in your browser. We suggest consulting the Help section of your browser for information on disabling cookies.

  1. How to make a complaint

To exercise all relevant rights, queries or complaints, please contact us via email at: help@ictv.global.

  1. Changes and feedback

This privacy page is based on current functionalities and features of this website. Any changes to the site may also lead to changes in this section. It is therefore advisable to consult this privacy statement regularly.