1. Introduction
This general privacy policy governs the processing of your personal data by Blue Lines in the context of your visit to our website or your communication with us via our website or by e-mail, letter, telephone, or social media.
Your personal data will be processed by Blue Lines, Kompasplein 19 box 3B, 9000 Ghent, Belgium, with company registration number BE0873.198.354.
2. Why we store our clients’ personal data
In the course of our business activities, we sometimes need to collect, process, and store data about you. These data are not only about your company (company name, address, VAT number, etc.), but also about you as a person (name, e-mail address, mobile number, gender, language, position, etc.). We only use and store data that we need in order to be able to provide you with the requested service (make quotations, setting up translation projects, drawing up invoices, etc.), under the conditions that we have agreed and within the framework of the accounting and other obligations laid down by law, etc. In short, we do so in order to be able to work with you properly and appropriately.
3. What personal data we process and how we collect them
3.1. These data will be collected automatically:
We use cookies on our website to store data about you. For more information, read our cookie policy.
3.2 These data will be collected when you give them to us:
- When you fill in the contact form or quotation form on our website, we collect the identity information that you give us, such as your first name, surname, e-mail address, postal address, telephone number, the content of the message and its technical details (date, time).
- When you send us an e-mail or letter, we will collect the identity information that you give us, such as your name, e-mail address, postal address, telephone number, the content of the e-mail or letter and its details, including (technical) details (date, time).
- To be able to prepare a quotation, and in a later phase also the invoice, the personal data you give us will be stored in our database. This applies to the data we need to communicate with you when working together, such as your name, e-mail address, telephone number, etc. We also keep track of which language you like us to use to speak to you (NL, EN, FR).
- For a complete overview of the data we have about you, who has access to them, why we keep them, how they are protected, how long we retain them, etc., please consult our data register, which we can send you on request. Our contact details can be found at the bottom of this document.
- If you send texts to us, Blue Lines, whether by e-mail or using the contact form on our website, because you want to receive a quotation or place an order, we will treat the personal data contained in those texts with discretion.
We recommend that you remove personal data from source documents before sending them to Blue Lines, as far as possible and as long as this will not compromise the quality of the translation. In any case, we always treat the texts received as strictly confidential. We only pass them on to our freelance translators and other language specialists so that they can carry out the requested assignment. We enter into a processing agreement with all suppliers involved, in which we ask them to treat your texts and any personal data they may contain confidentially. This means that our suppliers:
> must comply with the privacy legislation;
> must not pass on any personal data from the texts supplied to third parties;
> are obliged to report any data breach to Blue Lines within 24 hours;
> must take the necessary technical and administrative security measures to protect the texts, including any personal data that they may contain, against loss or unauthorised processing;
> may only process the personal data from the supplied texts on behalf of Blue Lines bvba with the instructions and under the authority of Blue Lines bv. - When you subscribe to our newsletter via the website, we will retain, in addition to the technical information mentioned above, the information you have given (name, e-mail address) as well as the time when you subscribed. When we send you a newsletter, we will keep statistics about how often you open the newsletter, the links you click on, the e-mail client you use, etc.
Blue Lines sends out a newsletter several times a year providing information (about holiday closures, case studies, information to optimise cooperation, etc.).
If you no longer wish to receive marketing communications from us, you can unsubscribe from our newsletter using the link at the bottom of the newsletter.
Unsubscribing from our newsletter will not affect our business activities or the quality of the support we provide.
4. How long do we retain your personal data?
We retain our clients’ data for as long as is required by law.
We retain texts and translations containing personal data for five years, and then definitively delete them.
If you ask us explicitly in writing or by e-mail to remove your personal data, we will do so within a period of one year, as long as that personal data does not correspond to personal data derived from contracts. This is because the period of limitation for contractual issues is ten years.
5. Do we pass on your personal data?
Needless to say, we do not sell your personal data under any circumstances, but sometimes we have to pass on certain personal data to third parties, for example, to:
- conduct accounting transactions in accordance with our business activities;
comply with the laws and regulations in force. - In such situations, you can be sure that we only pass on the strictly necessary data and that our partners are as committed to your privacy as we are.
We use an external service for sending out the newsletters. This is an Australian company that also complies with the obligations imposed by the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).
We also use an external service for the management and visitor analysis of our website. This external service also complies with the obligations of the GDPR.
Our data are backed up by an external service in the US, which also complies with the GDPR.
In order to perform our services (translations, copywriting, revision, etc.), we use external linguists with whom we conclude a processing agreement.
6. What are your rights?
Your data will be retained by Blue Lines. You can send an e-mail at any time to info@bluelines.eu with the request to view or change your personal data.
You have the right to ask us about the personal data that we process about you, the purpose and nature of the processing, and information about these data and the parties with whom we share them.
You have the right to ask us to update, correct, or delete your personal data at any time. We will remove personal data within the period of one year after receiving your request, as long as that personal data does not correspond to personal data derived from contracts. This is because the period of limitation for contractual issues is ten years.
You have the right to opt out of our or third parties’ use or collection of certain data, including personal data and non-personal data, by following the instructions on the website.
You have the right to unsubscribe from newsletters or other information you receive from us by e-mail at any time. To do this, please follow the instructions for unsubscribing in the relevant appropriate e-mail or newsletter.
If you believe that your rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with a supervisory authority. In Belgium, this is the Data Protection Authority.
7. Any questions?
We have done our best to keep our privacy policy simple. However, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us:
By e-mail
info@bluelines.eu
By post
Blue Lines
Kompasplein 19 box 3B
9000 Ghent
By telephone
+32 (0)9 233 16 06