People vs Big Tech is an open movement of civil society organisations and concerned citizens working together to challenge the power and abuses of Big Tech.

This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) addresses the data processing we undertake in connection with the People vs Big Tech website (the “Website”).

This Policy does not address our other personal data processing operations. Additional policies and procedures addressing these processes are or will be put in place and we will provide relevant information to data subjects at the point of data collection, or subsequently, as required by law.

This Policy is subject to regular review. Subsequent updates and amendments will be documented below and communicated to data subjects where necessary.

Data controllers

The primary data controller for data collected and processed in accordance with this Policy are People vs Big Tech, with the exception of “The People” newsletter, whereby The Citizens acts as joint controller with People vs Big Tech. More information about The Citizens can be found on their website.

The Citizens is a member organisation of People vs Big Tech, with whom People vs Big Tech collaborates to create and distribute a newsletter entitled “The People”. The Citizens conduct research, create content and make day to day decisions in order to run the newsletter and related social media content. The Citizens manage the newsletter mailing list and reviews audience engagement data to inform and support communication strategy decision making. Both organisations contribute to decision making about the purposes and means of data processing in relation to the People newsletter in accordance with this Policy.

People vs Big Tech and The Citizens have entered into an agreement supporting their relationship that sets out how we will manage their obligations under data protection laws as joint controllers, including in relation to responding to data subject requests.

Contact

Any questions regarding this Policy or other data protection issues related to People vs. Big Tech should be submitted to: [email protected]

Guiding principles

People vs Big Tech is committed to challenging the power and abuses of Big Tech together with you. We are guided by the principles outlined in the People’s Declaration and held accountable by a network of groups around the world striving to increase public and political support for Big Tech accountability.

All internet usage generates additional “metadata” that is collected and retained by internet service providers. This data can be accessed by law enforcement and intelligence agencies, who may extrapolate upon it to build up detailed “pictures” of specific individuals and communities. Individuals concerned about this kind of surveillance are encouraged to take measures to protect their privacy, for example by using the Tor browser or a VPN.

What we process, why and the legal basis for this

Subscription to “The People” newsletter

If you choose to sign up to receive “The People” newsletter, we will collect the information you provide – your name, country, and email address – in order to send you the newsletter via email. The legal basis for this processing is your consent, which you may withdraw at any time by unsubscribing to the newsletter or contacting us above.

Website data

The personal data that we collect from Website visitors is limited to the Internet protocol (IP) address of the computer accessing the site for users filling out the contact form or signing up to the People’s Declaration; the browser software and operating system that the computer uses; and the Internet address (URL) of the outside website from which visitor came.

If you choose to fill out the contact form, we will collect the information you provide – your name, country, and email address – in order to direct your request to our website managers. The legal basis for this processing is your consent, which you gave once sending this information to us. You may withdraw this consent at any time, by emailing [email protected].

If you choose to sign the People’s Declaration, we will collect the information you provide – your name, country, and email address – in order to count your signature on our website. The legal basis for this processing is your consent, which you may withdraw at any time by emailing [email protected].

Data retention

Subscription to the People newsletter

If you subscribe to “the People” newsletter, we retain your name and email address in our data archive. If you would like your information to be permanently removed from this archive, please email [email protected].

Contact form

If you send us an email via the contact form, our team will receive your name, email address and message. It will be kept securely in our data archive. If you would like your information to be permanently removed from this archive, please email [email protected].

Sign up to the People’s Declaration

If you sign the People’s Declaration, our team will receive your name, email address. It will be kept securely in our data archive. If you would like your information to be permanently removed from this archive, please email [email protected].

Sensitive data

We do not collect or process any sensitive data, or “special category data” as defined in UK and EU data protection laws.

Tracking and cookies

Our Website uses cookies and other technical measures to monitor and protect against malicious traffic and to collect limited analytical data in order to understand how users engage with the Website. We respect “do not track” requests and only deploy non-essential cookies (e.g. those that gather analytics and statistics) on the basis of your consent.

We have limited the cookies deployed to the following:

• Strictly necessary Cloudflare cookies to protect the Website against DDoS attacks
• Strictly necessary application cookies to facilitate user logins and protect the Website against attempts to inject malicious code into registration forms

Opting in and out of cookies

The Cloudflare and application cookies perform essential Website security functions and as such, it is not possible to opt-out.

Browser settings can also be used to manage cookie preferences. Each browser is different, so check the Help or Settings menu of your particular browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences.

Information security

We take all reasonable steps to ensure that personal data is processed securely and treated in accordance with this Policy. The technical and organisational measures to prevent unauthorised access to personal data include limiting staff and processor access to personal data in accordance with specific job responsibilities or contractual obligations, the encryption of data where possible, the institution of security protocols and staff training.

Although we do our best to protect personal data, information transmitted over the internet remains vulnerable to interception – for this reason, the transmission of any personal data to our websites or via email to us is therefore at the data subjects’ own risk.

Data sharing and processors

Processors

We engage third-party service providers to perform certain data processing tasks that enable us to run the Website and mailing list, these include:

• Cloudflare
• Imagify
• Wordfence
• Vimeo
• Ghost

These third parties are engaged on terms that ensure the confidentiality of data and compliance with applicable data protection laws.

Data sharing

No personal data will be shared with any parties outside of People vs Big Tech and The Citizens.

International transfers of data

Where we transfer your data outside of the European Union or the European Economic Area, we will ensure that your data is appropriately protected by requiring the recipient to respect and uphold your rights as a data subject under all applicable laws and by making the transfer subject to an international transfer safeguard, for example, the Standard Contractual Clauses issued by the European Commission.

External websites

The Website includes links to external websites, or other external resources and social media platforms that may process your data or use cookies. You can find out more about these services and the way they process data through their respective websites and privacy policies. Please note we cannot control the way those external websites collect and retain your personal data, so you use those external services at your own risk.

Your rights

Individuals whose personal data is processed in accordance with this Policy may have the following rights available:

• The right to be informed as to whether we hold data about them;
• The right of access to that information;
• The right to have inaccurate data corrected;
• The right to have their data deleted;
• The right to opt-out of particular data processing operations;
• The right to receive their data in a form that makes it “portable”;
• The right to object to data processing;
• The right to receive an explanation about any automated decision making and/or profiling, and to challenge those decisions where appropriate.

To make a subject access request or complaint related to the processing of your personal data under this Policy contact [email protected].

You also have the right to bring concerns to your national data protection regulator if you feel that your personal data has been unlawfully processed. For example, data subjects covered by EU law may also be entitled to lodge complaints in regard to data processing or the handling of subject access requests with data protection supervisory authority in their country of residence. Relevant supervisory authority names and contact details are listed here.

Changes and revisions

If we make changes to this Policy, the date and nature of the change will be listed below. Should a change to the Policy result in a material impact on the handling of any personal data, we will contact the impacted data subjects to inform them directly.