1. Introduction

The European Commission (hereafter ‘the Commission’) is committed to protect your personal
data and to respect your privacy. The Commission collects and further processes personal data
pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal
data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such
data (repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001).
This privacy statement explains the reason for the processing of your personal data, the way we
collect, handle and ensure protection of all personal data provided, how that information is
used and what rights you have in relation to your personal data. It also specifies the contact
details of the responsible Data Controller with whom you may exercise your rights, the Data
Protection Officer and the European Data Protection Supervisor.
The information in relation to processing operation “Social Media activities in DG
Interpretation“ undertaken by Unit SCIC.01 (Strategy, Policy and Communication) in DG
Interpretation is presented below.

2. Why and how do we process your personal data?

Purpose of the processing operation: Unit SCIC.01 collects and uses your personal information
to facilitate online communication activities lead by DG Interpretation through widely used
corporate social media platforms, and to analyse how social media users react to the
information published.
The processing of personal data by DG Interpretation follows users’ voluntary registration,
which is subject to the terms and conditions of the social media platform used. SCIC.01
processes and analyses aggregated data and statistics as well as publicly available data from
posts by authors that have agreed to the terms and conditions of the various social media
platforms (e.g. Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube). Data subjects should also consult the
privacy policies of the social media platforms for more information.

Each of DG Interpretation’s social media channels are identified through the handle
@EUInterpreters.

The DG’s social media activity reinforces its external communication goals of systematically
supporting capacity development, the promotion of multilingualism and the interpreting
profession as well as highlighting the DG’s position as a point of reference for conference
interpretation on a global level. Your personal data will not be used for an automated decision-
making including profiling.

3. On what legal ground(s) do we process your personal data

We process your personal data, because:
(a) processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest
or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Union institution or body;
The personal data processing linked to the qualitative media monitoring analysis, including
social media, as well as operating and maintenance of the Commission’s social media presence
are necessary for the performance of the Commission’s tasks carried out in the public interest,,
as mandated by the treaties, and more specifically Article 5 of TEU, Article 13 TEU and Articles
244-250 TFEU, and in accordance with Article 1 and Article 11 of TEU.
Informing the broad public and qualitative media monitoring, including monitoring and analysis
of social media activities is a public service task resulting from the European Commission’s own
prerogatives at institutional level, as provided for in Article 58 (2) (d) of Regulation (EU,
Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the
financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No
1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013,
(EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and
repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1)

4. Which personal data do we collect and further process?

In order to carry out this processing operation SCIC. 01, DG Interpretation, collects the following
categories of personal data:

1) For people appearing on the audio-visual content posted on the corporate social media
channels:

• Personal data available via audio-visual content that might be published on the social
  media platforms: information in or about the content provided by a user (e.g.,
  metadata), such as the location of a photo or the date a file was created, voice
  recordings, video recordings, or the image of a data subject

2) For people accessing DG Interpretation’s corporate social media channels: depending on the
circumstances and on the social media platform in question, SCIC.01 may collect and further
process the following categories of data:

• Personal data derived from user profiles: identification data such as geographical area,
  age, time of activity, age, gender, and other personal characteristics such as language;
  SCIC.01 processes aggregated and anonymized data available from third-party
  processors (Emplifi, Facebook analytics, etc.)
• Personal data available about users of social media platforms through their networks
  and connections: engagement, reach and sentiment, comments, networks and
  connections

The provision of personal data is not mandatory.

5. How long do we keep your personal data?

Unit SCIC.01 only keeps your personal data for the time necessary to fulfil the purpose of
collection or further processing, namely for 5 years from the publication, although some audio-
visual material may be selected for permanent preservation.

6. How do we protect and safeguard your personal data?

All personal data in electronic format (e-mails, documents, databases, uploaded batches of
data, etc.) are stored either on the servers of the European Commission. All processing
operations are carried out pursuant to the Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2017/46 of 10
January 2017 on the security of communication and information systems in the European
Commission.
The Commission’s contractors are bound by a specific contractual clause for any processing
operations of your data on behalf of the Commission, and by the confidentiality obligations
deriving from the transposition of the General Data Protection Regulation in the EU Member
States (‘GDPR’ Regulation (EU) 2016/679.]

In order to protect your personal data, the Commission has put in place a number of technical
and organisational measures in place. Technical measures include appropriate actions to
address online security, risk of data loss, alteration of data or unauthorised access, taking into
consideration the risk presented by the processing and the nature of the personal data being
processed. Organisational measures include restricting access to the personal data solely to
authorised persons with a legitimate need to know for the purposes of this processing
operation

7. Who has access to your personal data and to whom is it disclosed?

Access to your personal data is provided to the Commission staff responsible for carrying out
this processing operation and to authorised staff according to the “need to know” principle.
Such staff abide by statutory, and when required, additional confidentiality agreements.
Authorised staff of SCIC.01 involved in social media and related communication activities have
access to the audio-visual material and the related personal data.
Members of the general public can view audio-visual material published on DG SCIC’s corporate
social media channels; they do not have access to the related personal data.
The information we collect will not be given to any third party, except to the extent and for the
purpose we may be required to do so by law.

8. What are your rights and how can you exercise them?

You have specific rights as a ‘data subject’ under Chapter III (Articles 14-25) of Regulation (EU)
2018/1725, in particular the right to access, your personal data and to rectify them in case your
personal data are inaccurate or incomplete. Where applicable, you have the right to erase your
personal data, to restrict the processing of your personal data, to object to the processing, and
the right to data portability.

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data, which is lawfully carried
out pursuant to Article 5(1)(a) on grounds relating to your particular situation.

You can exercise your rights by contacting the Data Controller, or in case of conflict the Data
Protection Officer. If necessary, you can also address the European Data Protection Supervisor.
Their contact information is given under Heading 9 below.

Where you wish to exercise your rights in the context of one or several specific processing
operations, please provide their description (i.e. their Record reference(s) as specified under
Heading 10 below) in your request.

9. Contact information

• The Data Controller
  If you would like to exercise your rights under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, or if you have
  comments, questions or concerns, or if you would like to submit a complaint regarding the
  collection and use of your personal data, please feel free to contact the Data Controller, SCIC.01
  Strategy, Policy and Communication, at: scic-euroscic@ec.europa.eu
• The Data Protection Officer (DPO) of the Commission
  You may contact the Data Protection Officer (DATA-PROTECTION-OFFICER@ec.europa.eu) with
  regard to issues related to the processing of your personal data under Regulation (EU)
  2018/1725.
• The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS)
  You have the right to have recourse (i.e. you can lodge a complaint) to the European Data
  Protection Supervisor (edps@edps.europa.eu) if you consider that your rights under Regulation
  (EU) 2018/1725 have been infringed as a result of the processing of your personal data by the
  Data Controller.

10. Where to find more detailed information?

The Commission Data Protection Officer (DPO) publishes the register of all processing
operations on personal data by the Commission, which have been documented and notified to
him. You may access the register via the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/dpo-register.
This specific processing operation has been included in the DPO’s public register with the
following Record reference: DPR-EC-08666.

Version : February 2024