Privacy Policy

1. Overview 

At NEAR Foundation (the “Foundation”, “we”, “us”, “our”), a Swiss non-profit foundation established under the laws of Switzerland, we are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of your personal data. We strictly comply with the applicable data protection laws, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Switzerland’s Federal Data Protection Act  (FADP) and Ordinance on the Federal Data Protection Act (“OFADP”). This Privacy Policy  concerns the data collected, utilized, or shared by the Foundation when you engage with our websites, subscribe to updates from the Foundation, communicate with the Foundation, participate as a member of the Foundation community, or register for access to various services and tools. This Privacy Policy outlines the types of personal data we may collect, keep, process, the purposes for which we use it, the legal grounds for processing, data security measures, data sharing practices, data storage and transfers, data retention periods, your rights regarding your personal data and how to get in touch regarding privacy issues, and changes to this Privacy Policy. 

2. Accepting Collection and Processing of Your Personal Data 

By using Foundation’s websites or its services/tools, you accept that the Foundation may collect and process your personal data. You acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to this Privacy Policy. Your consent for data processing is given in particular through browsing through our websites, consenting to cookie use, or providing data for community/registration. The Foundation may use these data within the limit provided by applicable laws and this Privacy Policy. You agree that the Foundation may store your personal data in any country of the EEA/EU/Switzerland, as well as the United States. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please refrain from using our website(s), and do not become a member of the Foundation community.

3. Types of Personal Data We Collect/Process

The main source of personal data processing is the information received directly from you during our business relationship. For example, you may provide us with personal information by filling in forms on our websites or by corresponding with us by email, telephone, letters, online forms and/or other means of communication. Additionally, we may obtain data from business partners or other involved parties when appropriate and permissible. We may also gather data from publicly accessible sources like online media publications or public registers, their employees or their contractual partners, government bodies and other third parties, such as counterparties and business partners. We may collect and process various categories of personal data from third parties, including but not limited to the following:

• Name, contact details (email address, phone number, address)
• Identification information (such as government-issued ID or passport)
• Professional information (such as job title, company name)
• References for applications
• Information obtained from the government bodies
• Information shared by people around you (e.g. friends and family, advisors)
• Information needed for agency acts (e.g. references, your address for deliveries, powers of attorney)
• Payment and creditworthiness information (credit/debit card details/debt collection information)
• Any other personal data you voluntarily provide to us during consultations or through the website. When you visit our website, we may collect both personally identifiable information (PII) and non-personally identifiable information (non-PII) from you. PII includes but is not limited to your name, email address, and contact details. Non-PII includes technical information such as your IP address, browser type and operating system used, and usage patterns including but not limited to date and time at the time of access, source/reference from which you reached the page, data amount sent etc. Please refer to our Cookie Policy for further information regarding the cookies we employ and for guidance on how to control and remove cookies.

4. Purposes of Processing

The data we collect serves primarily to facilitate your seamless navigation of the website(s), maintain a roster of Foundation community members, and support your utilization of the services and tools we may offer. When you communicate with us via email, we will retain a record of the interaction. This is particularly crucial for communicating with you and our community members and obtaining products and services from suppliers and subcontractors, including foreign and domestic lawyers, accountants, tax advisors and experts. Additionally, we process data to meet domestic and foreign legal requirements. If you are an employee of one of our community members or business partners, your personal data may be subject to this processing.

Furthermore, in compliance with applicable laws and where appropriate, we may process your personal data and that of third parties based on legitimate interests. These interests may include the following purposes:

• Communicating with you, answering your questions and comments
• Verifying your identity
• Providing you with better services and tools
• Processing transactions
• Managing accounts
• Complying with legal and regulatory obligations
• Managing and improving our website, applications, platforms and services
• Market research, market monitoring, advertising and marketing (including organizing events); sending promotional materials and newsletters (if you have provided your consent; if you receive our advertisements and wish to opt-out, you can do so at any time, and we will add you to our blacklist to exclude you from further advertising mailings)
• Preventing and investigating criminal offenses and other misconduct, including conducting internal investigations and fraud analysis
• Protecting our rights, property and safety, and these of certain third parties, e.g. our community members
• Recruiting 

If you have provided us with your consent to process your personal data for specific purposes, we will process your data based on that consent, unless there is an alternative legal basis that applies. This consent will remain valid until withdrawn, and you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. However, please note that any data processed prior to the withdrawal will remain unaffected.

5.  Collection of Personal Data

We collect personal data through the following means:

• Information you provide through our website, forms, or during consultations
• Information obtained during phone or email communications
• Data collected through cookies and similar technologies on our website (please refer to our Cookie Policy)

6. Personal Data Storage and Personal Data Security Measures

We process and store your personal data only for the period necessary for the activity for which your personal data was collected or as far as permissible under the applicable laws or regulations. If the storage purpose is not applicable, or if a storage period prescribed by the applicable laws expires, the personal data is routinely erased in accordance with the applicable laws or regulations.

We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal data against unauthorized access, loss, destruction, or alteration. We restrict access to your personal data to only those employees or third parties who need it to perform their duties.

7.  Data Sharing and Transfers

In the course of of providing our services and in connection with our business activities, in particular to provide you with our services and tools, we may share your personal data with various categories of third parties both domestically and internationally such as:

• Our team members and consultants involved in relevant business operations 
• Third-party service providers assisting us in carrying out our business activities (e.g., payment processors, IT support, other suppliers and subcontractors) 
• Law enforcement, courts, regulatory authorities, when required by law or to protect our legal rights
• Insurance providers, business partners, counterparties, and other third parties

Such disclosures may occur in Switzerland, EU/EEA, the United States, or other countries for the purposes mentioned above and where appropriate. Additionally, we may be obligated to disclose your personal information to comply with legal or regulatory obligations.

We conduct thorough due diligence on third-party contractors and ensure through contractual agreements that subcontractors process personal data appropriately, in compliance with our legal and regulatory obligations. Additionally, we may engage external data controllers, such as lawyers, accountants, or other third-party experts, in particular to provide you with our services and tools.

When transferring data to a country outside EU/EEA/Switzerland that lacks adequate legal data protection, we take measures to ensure a sufficient level of protection. This includes utilizing standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission that comply with the GDPR

8. Google Analytics and Other Third-Party Services

We use Google Analytics and Mailchimp on our website which allow us to measure and evaluate the use of our website (without identifying individuals). These are services provided by third parties, which may be located in any country (in the case of Google Analytics, Google LLC is based in the US but Google Ireland Ltd. is the data controller for customers based in the EU and Switzerland). The data produced through Google Analytics cookies regarding your website(s) usage, including your IP address, might be transmitted to and stored on Google servers located beyond your country of residence. Google employs this data to assess your website(s) engagement, produce activity reports for publishers, and furnish additional services linked to website activity and internet utilization. Google may share this information with third parties as required by law or when third parties process this data on Google’s behalf, such as the website’s publisher. Google will not amalgamate your IP address with other data within its possession. For more information, visit https://policies.google.com/?hl=en). Permanent cookies, which are placed by the service provider, are also used for this purpose. Although such service providers do not receive personal data from us (and do not retain any IP addresses), they may track your use of the website, combine this information with data from other websites you have visited, which are also tracked by service providers, and use this information for their own purposes (e.g. to manage advertising). If you have registered with the service provider concerned, the service provider will also know your identity. The service provider concerned will then be responsible for processing your personal data in accordance with the applicable data protection provisions. Service providers only provide information on how a particular website is used (but not any personal details).

We also use plugins from social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, LinkedIn on our websites. This will be evident to you, as the relevant symbol will typically be displayed. We have configured these elements to be disabled by default. If you enable these (by clicking on them), the social network operators may register that you are on our website and where you are on our website, and may use this information for their own purposes. The operator concerned will then be responsible for processing your personal data in accordance with the applicable data protection provisions. We will not receive any information regarding you from the operator concerned. 

9. Data Retention

We will retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. As soon as the personal data collected by us is no longer required for these purposes, they will be deleted or anonymized as far as possible.

10. Your Rights Regarding Personal Data

You have the right to withdraw your consent to processing of your personal data at any time. You have the right to request a copy of your personal data. You have the right to obtain from the Foundation confirmation as to whether or not personal data concerning you are being processed, and, where that is the case, access to the personal data and the following information:

• the purposes of the processing;
• the categories of personal data concerned;
• the recipients or categories of recipient to whom the personal data have been or will be disclosed, in particular recipients in third countries or international organisations;
• where possible, the envisaged period for which the personal data will be stored, or, if not possible, the criteria used to determine that period;
• the existence of the right to request from the Foundation rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing of personal data concerning you or to object to such processing;
• the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority;
• where the personal data are not collected from you, any available information as to their source;
• the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, referred to in Article 22(1) and (4) GDPR and, at least in those cases, meaningful information about the logic involved, as well as the significance and the envisaged consequences of such processing for the data subject.

You have the right to obtain from the Foundation without undue delay the rectification of inaccurate personal data concerning you. Taking into account the purposes of the processing, you have the right to have incomplete personal data completed, including by means of providing a supplementary statement.

You have the right to obtain from the Foundation the erasure of personal data concerning you without undue delay and the Foundation shall have the obligation to erase personal data without undue delay where one of the following grounds applies:

• the personal data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed;
• the data subject withdraws consent on which the processing is based according to point (a) of Article 6(1), or point (a) of Article 9(2) GDPR, and where there is no other legal ground for the processing;
• the data subject objects to the processing pursuant to Article 21(1) GDPR and there are no overriding legitimate grounds for the processing, or the data subject objects to the processing pursuant to Article 21(2) GDPR;
• the personal data have been unlawfully processed;
• the personal data have to be erased for compliance with a legal obligation in Union or Member State law to which the controller is subject;
• the personal data have been collected in relation to the offer of information society services referred to in Article 8(1) GDPR.

You have the right to obtain from the Foundation restriction of processing where one of the following applies:

• the accuracy of the personal data is contested by you, for a period enabling the Foundation to verify the accuracy of the personal data;
• the processing is unlawful and you oppose the erasure of the personal data and request the restriction of your use instead;
• the Foundation no longer needs the personal data for the purposes of the processing, but it is required by the data subject for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims;
• You have objected to processing pursuant to Article 21(1) GDPR pending the verification whether the legitimate grounds of the Foundation override.

You have the right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, at any time to processing of personal data concerning you which is based on point (e) or (f) of Article 6(1) GDPR, including profiling based on those provisions. The  Foundation shall no longer process the personal data unless the Foundation demonstrates compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claim.

You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you. This shall not apply if the decision:

• is necessary for entering into, or performance of, a contract between the you and the Foundation;
• is authorised by the EU or its Member State law to which the Foundation is subject and which also lays down suitable measures to safeguard your rights and freedoms and legitimate interests; or
• is based on your explicit consent.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in section 11 below.

In addition, you have the right to submit a complaint with the supervisory authority. Switzerland’s competent data protection authority is the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner. The competent data protection authorities of the respective  EU countries can be found here. 

11. Contact Regarding Privacy Issues

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests related to this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us at: 

NEAR Foundation

Chamerstrasse 12 C

6300 Zug

Switzerland

[email protected]

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to periodically update and amend this Privacy Policy in response to alterations in our data processing procedures or legal obligations. Any modifications will be made available on our website, and we recommend that you periodically review this Privacy Policy for any changes.

Last Updated: 15.07.2024