Customer Personal Information Protection Policy

of China Classification Society

China Classification Society (hereinafter referred to as CCS) attaches great importance to the protection of personal information. This Policy sets out the policies for processing your personal information collected by CCS website and service platforms. We will use the information strictly in accordance with this Policy and our user terms and conditions.

In this Policy, personal information means any information recorded electronically or by other means that can identify a specific natural person or reflect the activity of a particular natural person, either alone or in combination with other information, including but not limited to the name, date of birth, ID number, address, telephone number, fax number, email address and online history of a natural person.

By applying to CCS website for the use of the website or applying for or accepting the services of CCS by other means, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Policy, and accepted our rules and policies regarding your personal information, and you explicitly agree that we collect, store, use, process, transmit, provide, disclose and delete your personal information in accordance with this Policy. We will process your personal information in accordance with relevant laws of the People’s Republic of China when it is necessary, with justified reason, and in good faith.

If you are a user within the scope of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we will also fulfill relevant obligations. If you change your mind in the future, you may withdraw your consent to use your personal information in accordance with this Policy.

If you do not agree to this Policy, we will not refuse to provide services to you because you do not consent to our collection of your personal information. You can still visit the CCS website and use its basic service functions.

I. Information collected by us and the method used by us to collect the information

In order to provide you with our services, you need to provide the personal information necessary for the services. If you do not provide your personal information, we may not be able to provide you with corresponding services.

We will only collect information that is necessary, specific, explicit and legitimate for the services you have chosen, and will not process the information further in a manner that is inconsistent with these purposes. Depending on the services you have chosen, we may collect one or more of the following information (which is not exhaustive), whether or not it is personal information:

1. Information you provide to us. You provide us with relevant information about you by using our services or contacting us by phone, email or other means. This includes information provided by you when registering for our services, such as your real name, email address, mobile number, fax number, country, company, address, which will help us register for you so that you can use our service.

2. Information generated and displayed when you use the services. When you use our services, we will automatically collect certain information about you, including the IP address and information about your use of our services, such as date and time stamps. We will also collect and store your personal information each time you log into the CCS service system, for example, the information generated when you communicate with us via phone, email or in-app support communication tools.

3. Relevant information about you which is collected by us during the cooperation process. When we cooperate, you provide us with relevant information, such as your ID number, nationality, country of residence, professional qualifications, etc., by providing services, signing cooperation agreements, conducting surveys and promotional activities (including those entrusted to a third party) to provide better services.

4. Your personal information which we may obtain through a third party. We may collect your personal information, such as your name and contact information, by participating third party trade fairs or from network providers, in order to provide you with information about products and services.

Please note that a third party may have its own special personal information protection policy and explain how to collect and process your personal information. Such policy does not constitute a part of this Policy. You need to carefully read and decide whether agree with its personal information protection policy or not.

II. How we will use and store information

1. Use of information

We will use the personal information by the following means in accordance with relevant laws:

(1) We use collected information to provide customers with service and support, carry out satisfaction surveys of our products and services or other investigations in order to evaluate and improve our services, and inform you of our additional products and services etc.

(2) We will use the collected information for big data analysis. For example, we use the collected information to analyze and develop statistical reports that do not contain any personal information. We may disclose big data analysis information that does not contain identification content after statistical processing.

(3) We will ask for your consent in advance when we intend to use the information for other purposes not covered by this Policy, and use the information collected for a specific purpose for other purposes.

2. Information storage

We will continue to store your personal information while you use our services or cooperate with us. The storage period will be the minimum time necessary to achieve the above purpose. If you choose to close your account or voluntarily delete the above information, we will delete or anonymize your personal information. When your personal information storage exceeds the minimum period required for the above purpose, we will delete or anonymize your personal information, except as otherwise provided by laws and administrative regulations or compulsively required by relevant regulatory authorities according to law.

3. Information processing

We will not process the personal information provided by you while you use our services or cooperate with us.

III. How we will use Cookies and Web Beacons

When you use our website, we may also collect tracking information such as the IP address you have used and the pages you have visited on our website.

These information processing activities depend on your consent to the use of cookies and similar technology when you visit our website. We do not use Cookies for any purpose other than those stated in this Policy. You can manage or delete Cookies.

IV. To whom we provide your information

1. We will not sell any personal information to a third party.

2. We may sometimes disclose your personal information to a third party in order to provide you with the products and services you may need. We may disclose or share your information in the following cases (including but not limited to):

(1) when we might share your personal information with CCS overseas wholly-owned subsidiaries;

(2) for the purpose of CCS receiving audit carried out by the flag State Government or a third party;

(3) Law enforcement agencies, regulatory agencies, government agencies or other judicial institutions and organizations. We may disclose your information in accordance with the requirements of laws or if we have sufficient reasons to believe that the disclosure is reasonable and necessary:

• in order to abide by legal obligations, procedures or requirements;

• in order to fulfill our Terms of Service, your contract and other agreements,   policies and standards, including investigation of any possible violations;

• in order to detect, prevent, or otherwise address security, fraud, or technical issues;

• in order to protect the rights, property or security of us, our users, third parties or the public (including exchanging information with other companies and organizations to prevent fraud) as required by law or permission;

• other situations specified in laws and regulations.

(4) In case certain services are provided by a partner as authorized by CCS, your personal information will be shared between CCS and the partner in accordance with the description in this Policy. For example, CCS will authorize the partner to carry out satisfaction survey and CCS must share your personal information with the company conducting the survey.

(5) Disclosure to other organizations with your consent.

V. Security measures

We abide by the requirements of all relevant data security and personal information protection laws and regulations to collect, use, store and transmit user information and undertake to adopt the following security measures to protect your personal information.

1. We adopt measures of appropriate physical, administrative and technical safeguards to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, use, modification, damage or loss. For example, we use encryption technology to ensure the confidentiality of data; we use certified security mechanisms to protect against malicious attacks; we deploy access control mechanisms to ensure that only authorized personnel can access personal information; we will do our best to protect your personal information, but please note that no security measures can be impeccable.

2. If we need to share your personal information with a third party or transfer it to a destination outside of your country, we will require the third party to process data in accordance with this Policy and other relevant data protection requirements through a contract or agreement, so as to fully protect your personal information security.

3. We will cultivate the awareness of data security of employees and carry out the training and assessment of security capabilities, and strengthen employees' awareness of the importance of protecting personal information.

4. In the event of leakage of personal information, we will initiate an emergency plan, take appropriate remedial measures and notify the relevant regulatory departments in a timely manner according to relevant requirements. If personal information leakage may pose a high risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify you of the basic information and possible consequences of the information leakage by means of on-site notifications, emails, etc., and the actions we have taken or will take. When it is difficult to notify one by one, we will release an announcement in a reasonable and effective manner.

VI. Your rights

1. You can access and correct your personal information

You have the right to request access to your personal information held by us. If you believe that any information we hold about you is incorrect or incomplete, you can ask us to correct it. When you update your personal information, you will be asked to verify your identity before we process your request. Once we have sufficient information to process your request to access or correct your personal information, we will respond to your request in a timely manner.

More details related to your personal information in the service account of this website can be accessed and changed by logging in to your account with your device.

2. You can request to delete your personal information.

You are entitled to asking us to delete your personal information. We will process by taking corresponding steps, including technical means. This right may be limited; for example, if you ask us to delete information that is required by the law to be retained or the retention of that information has convincing legitimate rights.

3. You can request to transfer your personal information.

You are entitled to receiving your personal information in a structured, general and machine-readable manner or requesting us to transfer your personal information to other data controllers.

4. You can request to restrict or object to the processing of your personal information.

In specific cases other than the purpose of storage, you are entitled to restricting or objecting to the processing of your personal information by us. We will evaluate your request for restriction or objection. If we have legal reasons (e.g. for maintaining a legal statement, or providing protection for other people or the retention of that information has convincing legitimate rights), we may use such personal information again. We will notify you before we cancel the restriction.

You can exercise your rights above by contacting us at csm@ccs.org.cn.

VII. How we process the personal information of minors

Our services are not suitable for use by minors (under 16 years of age). Minors are not allowed to use the services for any purpose. We do not deliberately allow minors to provide any personal identity information. Since we are unable to identify the age of the web visitors, if the parent or guardian has any reason to believe that the minor has submitted personal information to us without prior consent, please contact us to ensure that such personal information is deleted.

VIII. Contact us

If you have any comments or questions about this Policy, or if you have any questions about collecting, using or disclosing your personal information by CCS, or if you have a complaint about how we process your personal information, please contact us at the address below, we will process your request after verifying your identity. If you are not satisfied with our reply, you have the right to lodge a complaint to the data protection agency where you live or where you believe the violation has occurred.

China Classification Society

Email: csm@ccs.org.cn

Address: 9 Dongzhimen Nan Da Jie, Dongcheng District, Beijing

Post: 100007

For customers from European Union Exclusive Economic Zone, please contact:

Hamburg Branch, China Classification Society

Email: ccshb@ccs.org.cn 

Address: Kuehnehoefe 1, D-22761 Hamburg, Germany

or:

Athens Branch, China Classification Society

Email: ccsat@ccs.org.cn

Address: Skouze 26, 18536 Piraeus, Greece

IX. Update of customer personal information protection policy

We can change the Customer Personal Information Protection Policy without notice. If we make any changes to this Policy, we will release an updated policy here with the date of the amendment. We advise you to check this page frequently for any changes to this Policy.

This Policy was last updated on 10 October 2022.