Privacy Policy

1. Privacy Policy of commissioner.brussels

1.1      commissioner.brussels ASBL (thereafter named « commissioner.brussels ») respects the privacy of its users  (thereafter named the “users”).

1.2      commissioner.brussels processes personal data given by its users according to the current privacy laws including the  Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and  according to the law of 30 July 2018 related to  the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data

1.3      The access to the website www.commissioner.brussels,  to commissioner.brussels extranet (thereafter named the « Site ») et the participation to all activities organised by commissioner.brussels (examples: subscription to newsletters, subscription to webinars)  (thereafter named « Services») imply the total acceptation by the user of the current privacy policy (thereafter named Privacy Policy ), as well as the total acceptation of its Terms and Conditions  (thereafter named Terms and Conditions ) and of its cookie policy  (thereafter named  « Cookie Policy »).

1.4 The User acknowledges having read and understood the information below and authorizes commissioner.brussels to process, in accordance with the provisions of the Policy, the personal data that he/she communicates on the website or by any other means as part of the service made available by commissioner.brussels (hereinafter, the "Service").

1.5      By providing information to users, commissioner.brussels may be required to amend and adapt the Privacy Policy, in order to comply with any new applicable legislation and / or regulations (such as the adoption of the new European regulation in dealing with the personal data - Regulation 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data - of 14 April 2016, and applicable as from 25 May 2018), the law of 30th July 2018 on protection of persons with regards to the processing of their personal data, the recommendations of the Belgian Privacy Commission, the guidelines, recommendations and good practice of the European Data Protection Committee and the decisions of courts and tribunals in this field.

1.6       The Privacy Policy is valid for all pages hosted on the website and for the registrations of this website. commissioner.brussels is  jointly responsible with the social network for the processing of data of visitors to the page. The Privacy Policy is also valid for all the other Services used by the user .  It is not valid for the pages hosted by third parties to which commissioner.brussels may refer and whose privacy policies may differ.  commissioner.brussels cannot therefore be held responsible for any data processed on these websites or by them.

2. Controller

2.1    Simply visiting the Website shall take place without having to provide any personal data, such as first name, surname, postal address, e-mail address, etc.

2.2     In order to use the Site, or in order to use Services, the user must be requested to give some personal data. In this case, the controller is:

L’ASBL commissioner.brussels

Avenue d'Auderghem 63,

1040 Brussels

N° BCE : 0506.668.414

Any queries or questions regarding the processing of personal data must be sent to: web@commissioner.brussels.

3. Personal data collected

3.1      By browsing the Site, by filling in forms, by requesting subscription to newsletters on the Site, by using social networks linked to commissioner.brussels or by using the Services offered by commissioner.brussels, the user allows commissioner.brussels to record and keep his personal data for the purposes listed in point 4 such as:

·        Identification data such as name, first name, gender, email address, birth date, language, country, postal code and contact information;

·        Communication between users and commissioner.brussels.

3.2      The user also authorizes commissioner.brussels to record and store the following data for the purposes mentioned in point 4:

·     information voluntarily provided by the user for a purpose specified in the Privacy Policy, the General Terms and Conditions of sale (hereinafter the “Terms"), the Cookie Policy, on the Website or on any other medium of communication used by commissioner.brussels;

·     additional information requested by commissioner.brussels to the user in order to identify him or to prevent him from violating any of the provisions of the Policy;

3.3      In order to facilitate the website navigation and in order to optimize the technical management of the website, the Site can have  « cookies ».   All information related to Cookies can be found in the Cookie Policy of commissioner.brussels.

3.4      When a user goes on the Site, the servers used record automatically some data such as:

·        The type of domain with which the User connects to the Internet;

·        The User’s IP address used when he connects;

·        The date and time of access to the Site et other data recording traffic;

·        Localisation data or other data related to the webpages accessed;

·        Type of web browser used;

·        Platform and/or operating system used;

·        Search engine and keywords used to find the Site.

 4. Purposes of processing the data

4.1.   We process your data for various purposes. For each purpose, only the data relevant to the pursuit of the purpose in question is processed. The processing consists of any operation (manual or automated) on personal data. commissioner.brussels collects, stores and uses its users’ data for the following purposes, in particular:

·    to analyze, adapt and improve the content of the website;

·    to carry out internal statistical surveys and market surveys and to deploy various statistical systems and studies;

·    to carry out satisfaction surveys of the events to which the user subscribes;

·    to allow the user to receive messages and manage his account from different devices (computer, tablet, smartphone, etc.);

·    to detect and/or prevent fraud or similar activities of an illegal nature;

·    to facilitate the provision and use of the website and improve the Services offered by commissioner.brussels as well as the experience of the users;

·    to respond to requests for information;

·    to inform them about the evolutions of the website and its functionalities and;

·    for any other purpose for which the User has expressly consented.

4.2  Legal basis for processing your personal data

The legal basis of the processing of your personal data is based on:

·    your consent;

·    the execution of any request from you; 

We do need to collect some of your data to answer any request from you. If you choose not to share this data with us, it may render the performance of the contract impossible.

·    a legal obligation imposed on the controller;

We do need to collect and store some of your data to meet various legal requirements, including tax and accounting.

·    our legitimate interest, provided that it is in accordance with your interests, freedoms and fundamental rights.

We have a legitimate interest in providing you with this information and interacting with you, especially to:

·    respond to your requests;

·    improve our services;

·    prevent abuse and fraud;

·    control the regularity of our operations;

·    exercise, defend and preserve our rights, for example in litigation, as well as evidence of a possible violation of our rights;

·    manage and improve our relations with you;

·    continually improve our website and our products/services, unless such interests are supplanted by your interests or your fundamental rights and freedoms requiring the protection of your personal data.

We take care in any case to maintain a proportionate balance between our legitimate interest and respect for your privacy.

 If the legal basis of our treatment is your consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time without prejudice to the lawfulness of the processing performed prior to withdrawal.

 In the context of direct marketing, this means that you can unsubscribe at any time from newsletters and other commercial communications from us. You will be put in "opt-out".

You can unsubscribe by sending us an email at the following address: web@commissioner.brussels or by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of each mail.

5. Rights of the data subject

5.1 According to the regulations on the processing of personal data, the user has the following rights:

•   Right to be informed about the purposes of the processing (see above) and the identity of the data controller;

•   Right of access: the user may, at any time,  have access to the data that commissioner.brusselshas on him or check if it is included in the database of commissioner.brussels;

•   Right to rectification: we take all reasonable steps to ensure that the data we hold is up to date. We encourage you from time to time to access your account (if applicable) or to consult us to check that your data is up to date. If you find that your data is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to ask us to correct it;

•   Right to object: the user may, at any time, object to the use of his data by commissioner.brussels;

•   Right to erasure: the user may, at any time, request the deletion of his personal data, except those which commissioner.brussels has a legal obligation to keep on record;

•   Right of limitation of processing: the user may, in particular, obtain a limitation of processing when he has objected to the processing, when he disputes the accuracy of the data, or when he considers that the processing is illegal;

•   Right of portability: The user has the right to receive the personal data that he has communicated to commissioner.brussels and may also ask the company to send this data to another data controller.

5.2      In order to exercise his rights, the user sends a written request, accompanied by a copy of his identity card or his passport, to the data controller:

•  by e-mail: web@commissioner.brussels

•   by mail:  DPO at

commissioner.brussels asbl

Avenue d'Auderghem 63

1040 Brussels

5.3     commissioner.brussels will then take the necessary steps to satisfy this request as soon as possible and in any case within one month of receipt of the application. If necessary, this period can be extended by two months, given the complexity and the number of requests

6. Period of storage

commissioner.brussels will keep the personal data of its users for the duration necessary to achieve the objectives pursued (see point 4).

commissioner.brussels may also continue to keep personal data concerning the de-registered user, including all correspondence or request for assistance sent to commissioner.brussels in order to be in a position to reply to all questions or complaints that may be sent to it, and in order to comply with all applicable laws, namely in tax matters or as part of other legal requirements, in particular the conservation of information on payments made.

 7. Complaint to the supervisory authority  

The User is informed that he has the right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Authority at the following address :

Data Protection Authority

Rue de la Presse 35,

1000 Brussels

Tel : +32 (0)2 274 48 00 /Fax: +32 (0)2 274 48 35

contact@apd-gba.be

8. Security

8.1 commissioner.brussels has taken the appropriate organizational and technical measures to ensure a level of security adapted to the risk and that, to the extent possible, the servers hosting the personal data processed prevent:

• unauthorized access to or modification of this data;

• improper use or disclosure of such data;

 • unlawful destruction or accidental loss of such data.

8.2 In this respect, employees of commissioner.brussels who have access to this data are subject to a strict confidentiality obligation. Nevertheless, commissioner.brussels may, in no way, be held liable in the event that this data is stolen or hijacked by a third party despite the security measures adopted.

8.3 Users undertake not to commit acts that may be contrary to this Policy, the Terms, the Cookie Policy or, in general, the law. Violations of confidentiality, integrity and availability of information systems and data which are stored, processed or transmitted by these systems, or the attempt to commit one of these violations, shall be punishable by imprisonment of between three months and five years and a fine of between twenty-six euros and two hundred thousand euros, or one of these penalties only

9 Communication to third parties  

9.1 commissioner.brussels treats personal data as confidential information. It will not communicate any personal data to third parties under any condition other than those specified in the Policy, such as to achieve the objectives set out and defined in point 4, or under the conditions in which the law requires it to do so.

9.2. Access to data, apart from that of the person responsible for data processing and their employees as indicated in Article 8 above, may, in certain cases, be granted to certain types of external parties, such as technical and email service providers, accommodation providers, IT companies, legal advisors, marketing services and our partners.

9.3 Are considered as partners of commissioner.brussels; all regional administrations and bodies in the performance of their duties, any player in the touristic, cultural and catering sector (hereinafter the "Partners"). In this context, commissioner.brussels may communicate to its Partners, the personal information of its users, for the purpose of accomplishing the purposes defined in paragraph 4.1.

9.4 commissioner.brussels may communicate its users’ personal information to third parties to the extent that such information is necessary for the performance of a contract with its Users. In such case, these third parties will not communicate this information to other third parties, except in one of the two following situations:

•  the communication of this information by such third parties to their suppliers or subcontractors to the extent necessary for the performance of the contract;

•  where such third parties are obliged by the regulations in force to communicate certain information or documents to the competent authorities in the field of combating money laundering, as well as, in general, to any competent public authority.

9.5  The updated list of these recipients may be requested at any time from the Data Controller.

9.6  The communication of this information to the aforementioned persons shall, in all circumstances, be limited to what is strictly necessary or required by the applicable regulations.

9.7   In the interest of helping its potential users to discover new products and piquing their interest, commissioner.brussels may also communicate personal information about its users to third parties, provided the users have explicitly consented to this.

10. Transfer to a country outside the European Economic Area

commissioner.brussels transfers data to a country outside the European Economic Area only when that country ensures an adequate level of protection within the meaning of the legislation in force and, in particular, within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (for more information on the countries offering an adequate level of protection, see: Adequacy decisions (europa.eu): or within the limits permitted by the legislation in force, for example by ensuring the protection of data by appropriate contractual  provisions validated by the European Commission

If you wish, you can obtain a copy of the standard contractual clauses by emailing us at web@commissioner.brussels

The information processed by commissioner.brussels will be transferred or transmitted, or stored and processed, in the United States or other countries other than the country in which you live, for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

These data transfers are necessary to provide the services or processing set forth in the Privacy Policy, and to operate and provide you with our Products worldwide.

We use Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission and we rely on the European Commission's adequacy decisions concerning certain countries, where appropriate, for data transfers from the European Economic Area to the United States and other countries. If you have any questions in this regard, do not hesitate to contact us at the following address: web@commissioner.brussels

11. Direct Marketing

The personal data will not be used for direct marketing purposes for articles or services that would not be identical or similar to those to which the user has already subscribed, unless the user has previously explicitly consented to such use by ticking the boxes provided for this purpose ("opt-in").

When the user has given his consent to the use of this information for direct marketing purposes, the latter retains the right to object to such use at any time, upon request and free of charge. The user may simply communicate his request by writing to the following address: web@commissioner.brussels.

The user is responsible for the personal data that he provides and commits to inform commissioner.brussels  of all changes to his personal data

 12. Note concerning minors

Persons under the age of 18 and persons who do not have full legal capacity are not allowed to use the Website. commissioner.brussels asks them not to provide their personal data. Any infringement found in this provision must be reported without delay to the following address: web@commissioner.brussels.

13. Updates and changes to the Privacy Policy

If it informs its users via the Site, by email or in any other manner, commissioner.brussels may modify and adapt its Privacy Policy, particularly in order to respect any applicable new legislation and/or regulations, recommendations from the Data Protection Authority in Belgium, guidelines, good practice recommendations by the European Data Protection Committee and decisions by the courts and tribunals on the subject. We recommend you regularly consult the Privacy Policy while referring to the most recent modification date indicated in the header of this document.

If a user opposes any modification of the Privacy Policy, they must immediately stop using the Site and can request that the data processor erases their personal data while respecting the legal provisions and conditions indicated in Article 5.

14. Validity of the contractual clauses

14.1 Failure by commissioner.brussels to invoke - at any given time - a provision of this Privacy  Policy, may not be interpreted as a waiver to subsequently make use of its rights under the said provision.

14.2 The invalidity, expiration or unenforceable nature of all or part of one of the above or below-mentioned provisions shall not give rise to the invalidity of all the Policy.

Any fully or partially invalid, lapsed or unenforceable provision shall be deemed not to have been written. commissioner.brussels undertakes to substitute this provision with another which, to the extent possible, fulfills the same objective.

15. Applicable law and competent court

15.1 The validity, interpretation and/or implementation of the Privacy Policy are subject to Belgian law, to the extent permitted by the provisions of applicable private international law.

15.2 In the event of a dispute relating to the validity, interpretation or implementation of the Policy, the courts and tribunals of Brussels have exclusive jurisdiction, to the extent permitted by the provisions of applicable private international law.

15.3 Before taking any step towards the judicial resolution of a dispute, the User and commissioner.brussels undertake to attempt to resolve it amicably. To this end, they shall first contact each other before resorting, where appropriate, to mediation, arbitration, or any other alternative method of dispute resolution.