Privacy Policy
The Merseyside Skeptics Society (MSS) is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.
This Policy explains when and why we collect personal information about people who visit our website, how we use it, the conditions under which we may disclose it to others, and how we keep it secure. We may change this Policy from time-to-time so please check this page occasionally to ensure that you’re happy with any changes. By signing up to our mailing list, you’re agreeing to be bound by this Policy. Any questions regarding this Policy and our privacy practices should be sent by email to the data protection officer, Bob Brady, responsible for data protection within the MSS: dpo@merseysideskeptics.org.uk
Who are we?
We are the Merseyside Skeptics Society, a non-profit organisation (registered company no. 07352726) which aims to develop and support the skeptical community on Merseyside. The society was founded in February 2009 and holds regular events in Liverpool City Centre.
How do we collect information?
We obtain information about you when you sign up to our mailing list to receive updates on our activities, either through our website or at an event.
What type of information is collected?
The information we collect is your name and email address. The legal basis for holding this data is explicit consent from members wishing to be kept informed of our events and activities.
How is your information used?
We may use your information to:
- send out regular newsletters informing our members of upcoming future events; and
- notify members about other activities regarding the MSS
We review our retention periods for personal information on a regular basis. We currently hold personal data for a maximum of three years before seeking re-confirmation of consent.
Who has access to your information?
We will not sell or rent your information to third parties. We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes. All personal information is held securely by our e-mail platform provider and accessible only by authorised persons.
We will not release your information to third parties beyond the purpose of maintaining a mailing list unless you have requested us to do so, or we are required to do so by law, for example, by a court order or for the purposes of prevention of fraud or other crime.
Your choices
If you do not want to receive communications from us, you can unsubscribe using the link included with all mailings. We will not contact you for marketing purposes unless you have given your explicit prior consent.
How you can access and update your information
We will include a links within all communications to access and update your data, and ensure it is accurate. Alternatively, you may contact us via dpo@merseysideskeptics.org.uk and we will endeavor to update the information on your behalf.
You may request the information we hold about you at any time by e-mailing dpo@merseysideskeptics.org.uk
Security precautions
When you give us personal information, we take steps to ensure that it’s treated securely. All information is encrypted and protected with TLS.
While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your information, we make our best effort to ensure its security on our systems.
Any breach of this policy or of data protection laws must be reported as soon as practically possible, as soon as you have become aware of a breach. Merseyside Skeptics Society has a legal obligation to report any data breaches to the ICO within 72 hours.
Profiling
We only use personal data to maintain a mailing list, and do not profile members in any way.
Links to other websites
Our website contains links to other websites run by other organisations. 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 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.
Under 16s
We are concerned to protect the privacy of children aged 16 or under. If you are aged 16 or under, please obtain your parent or guardian’s permission beforehand whenever you provide us with personal information.
Transferring your information outside of Europe
As part of the services offered to you through this website, the information which you provide to us may be transferred to countries outside the European Union (“EU”). By way of example, this may happen if any of our servers are from time to time located in a country outside of the EU. These countries may not have similar data protection laws to the UK. By submitting your personal data, you’re agreeing to this transfer, storing or processing. If we transfer your information outside of the EU in this way, we will take steps to ensure that appropriate security measures are taken with the aim of ensuring that your privacy rights continue to be protected as outlined in this Policy.
If you use our services while you are outside the EU, your information may be transferred outside the EU in order to provide you with those services.
Review of this Policy
We keep this Policy under regular review, at least annually. This Policy was last updated in November 2023.