Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy of the Swiss Movers Association (SMA)

Version of September 1, 2023

In this Privacy Policy, we, the Swiss Movers Association (SMA) (hereinafter referred to as we or us), explain how we collect and process personal data. This is not an exhaustive description; other privacy policies or general terms and conditions, terms of participation, and similar documents may regulate specific matters. Personal data refers to all information relating to an identified or identifiable person.
If you provide us with personal data of other persons (e.g., family members, data of colleagues), please ensure that these persons are aware of this Privacy Policy and only share their personal data with us if you are permitted to do so and if this personal data is accurate.
This Privacy Policy is designed to meet the requirements of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), the Swiss Data Protection Act (“DPA”), and the revised Swiss Data Protection Act (“revDPA”). However, whether and to what extent these laws are applicable depends on the individual case.

1. Controller
The FREI connect AG is responsible for the data processing described herein, unless otherwise specified in individual cases. If you have data protection concerns, you can inform us at the following contact address (please specify which concern you are referring to, if possible): FREI connect AG, Radgasse 3, 8005 Zurich, Switzerland, moving@sma-moving.ch
Our representative in the EEA according to Art. 27 GDPR is FREI connect AG, Radgasse 3, 8005 Zurich, Switzerland, moving@sma-moving.ch

2. Collection and Processing of Personal Data
We primarily process personal data that we receive from our customers and other business partners, and other persons involved, in the course of our business relationship, or that we collect from users when operating our websites, apps, and other applications.
Where permitted, we also obtain certain data from publicly accessible sources (e.g., debt enforcement registers, land registers, commercial registers, press, internet) or receive such data from other companies within FREI connect AG, from authorities, and other third parties. In addition to the data you provide us directly, the categories of personal data we receive about you from third parties include, in particular, information from public registers, information we learn in connection with official and judicial proceedings, information related to your professional functions and activities (so that we can, for example, conclude and process transactions with your employer with your assistance), information about you in correspondence and meetings with third parties, creditworthiness information (insofar as we conduct business with you personally), information about you provided by persons in your environment (family, advisors, legal representatives, etc.) so that we can conclude or process contracts with or involving you (e.g., references, your address for deliveries, powers of attorney, information for compliance with legal requirements such as anti-money laundering and export restrictions, information from banks, insurance companies, sales and other contractual partners of ours for the use or provision of services by you (e.g., payments made, purchases made)), information from media and the internet about you (insofar as this is indicated in the specific case, e.g., in the context of an application, press review, marketing/sales, etc.), your addresses and, if applicable, interests and other sociodemographic data (for marketing), data related to the use of the website (e.g., IP address, MAC address of the smartphone or computer, information about your device and settings, cookies, date and time of visit, pages and content accessed, functions used, referring website, location data).

3. Purposes of Data Processing and Legal Bases
We primarily use the personal data we collect to conclude and process our contracts with our customers and business partners, particularly in the context of association activities with our members and the procurement of products and services from our suppliers and subcontractors, as well as to comply with our legal obligations domestically and abroad. If you work for such a customer or business partner, your personal data may, of course, also be affected in this capacity.
Furthermore, we process personal data from you and other persons, where permitted and deemed appropriate, also for the following purposes, in which we (and sometimes third parties) have a legitimate interest corresponding to the purpose:
– Offering and further developing our offers, services, and websites, apps, and other platforms on which we are present;
– Communication with third parties and processing their inquiries (e.g., applications, media inquiries);
– Reviewing and optimizing procedures for needs analysis for direct customer approach, as well as collecting personal data from publicly accessible sources for customer acquisition;
– Advertising and marketing (including the organization of events), provided you have not objected to the use of your data (if we send you advertising as an existing customer, you can object at any time, and we will then add you to a block list against further advertising mailings);
– Market and opinion research, media monitoring;
– Assertion of legal claims and defense in connection with legal disputes and official proceedings;
– Prevention and investigation of criminal offenses and other misconduct (e.g., conducting internal investigations, data analyses for fraud prevention);
– Ensuring our operations, particularly IT, our websites, apps, and other platforms;
– Video surveillance for the protection of property rights and other measures for IT, building, and facility security and the protection of our employees and other persons, and assets belonging to us or entrusted to us (such as access controls, visitor lists, network and email scanners, telephone recordings);
– Purchase and sale of business units, companies or parts of companies and other corporate transactions and the associated transfer of personal data, as well as measures for business management and, where applicable, for compliance with legal and regulatory obligations and internal regulations of and/or FREI connect AG.
Insofar as you have given us consent to process your personal data for specific purposes (for example, when you register to receive newsletters or undergo a background check), we process your personal data within the scope of and based on this consent, provided we do not have another legal basis and require one. Consent given can be revoked at any time, which, however, does not affect data processing that has already taken place.

4. Cookies / Tracking and Other Technologies Related to the Use of Our Website
On our websites and apps, we typically use “cookies” and similar technologies that can identify your browser or device. A cookie is a small file that is sent to your computer or automatically stored on your computer or mobile device by the web browser you are using when you visit our website or install an app. When you revisit this website or use our app, we can recognize you, even if we do not know who you are. In addition to cookies that are only used during a session and deleted after your website visit (“session cookies”), cookies can also be used to store user settings and other information for a certain period (e.g., two years) (“persistent cookies”). However, you can set your browser to reject cookies, store them only for one session, or otherwise delete them prematurely. Most browsers are preset to accept cookies. We use persistent cookies so that you can save user settings (e.g., language, auto-login), so that we can better understand how you use our offers and content, and so that we can display offers and advertising tailored to you (which can also happen on websites of other companies; however, they will not know who you are from us, if we even know that ourselves, because they only see that the same user who was on a specific page with us is also on their website). Some of the cookies are set by us, and some by contractual partners with whom we cooperate. If you block cookies, certain functionalities (such as language selection, shopping cart, ordering processes) may no longer work.
In our newsletters and other marketing emails, we sometimes, and where permitted, embed visible and invisible image elements, by retrieving which from our servers we can determine whether and when you have opened the email, so that we can also measure and better understand how you use our offers and tailor them to you. You can block this in your email program; most are preset to do so.
By using our websites, apps, and consenting to receive newsletters and other marketing emails, you agree to the use of these technologies. If you do not wish this, you must adjust your browser or email program accordingly, or uninstall the app, if this cannot be adjusted via the settings.
On our websites, we sometimes use Google Analytics or comparable services. This is a service provided by third parties, who may be located in any country in the world (in the case of Google Analytics, it is Google Ireland (based in Ireland), Google Ireland relies on Google LLC (based in the USA) as a processor (both “Google”), www.google.com), with which we can measure and evaluate the use of the website (non-personally identifiable). For this purpose, persistent cookies are also used, which are set by the service provider. Although we can assume that the information we share with Google is not personal data for Google, it is possible that Google may draw conclusions about the identity of visitors from this data for its own purposes, create personal profiles, and link this data with the Google accounts of these persons. Insofar as you have registered with the service provider yourself, the service provider also knows you. The processing of your personal data by the service provider then takes place under the responsibility of the service provider according to their data protection provisions. The service provider only informs us how our respective website is used (no information about you personally).
Furthermore, on our websites, we use so-called plug-ins from social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, or Instagram. This is visible to you in each case (typically via corresponding symbols). We have configured these elements to be deactivated by default. If you activate them (by clicking), the operators of the respective social networks can register that you are on our website and where, and can use this information for their purposes. The processing of your personal data then takes place under the responsibility of this operator according to their data protection provisions. We do not receive any information about you from them.

5. Data Disclosure and Data Transfer Abroad
In the course of our business activities and for the purposes according to Section 3, where permitted and deemed appropriate, we also disclose data to third parties, either because they process it for us or because they wish to use it for their own purposes. This particularly concerns the following entities:
– Our service providers (within FREI connect AG as well as external, such as banks, insurance companies), including processors (such as IT providers);
– Dealers, suppliers, subcontractors, and other business partners;
– Customers;
– Domestic and foreign authorities, offices, or courts;
– Media;
– The public, including visitors to websites and social media;
– Competitors, industry organizations, associations, organizations, and other bodies;
– Acquirers or interested parties in the acquisition of business units, companies, or other parts of FREI connect AG; other parties in potential or actual legal proceedings;
– Other companies of FREI connect AG;
all collectively recipients.
These recipients are partly located domestically but can be anywhere in the world. In particular, you must expect your data to be transferred to all countries where FREI connect is represented by group companies, branches, or other offices, as well as to other European countries and the USA, where the service providers we use are located (e.g., Microsoft, SAP, Salesforce).
If a recipient is located in a country without adequate legal data protection, we contractually oblige the recipient to comply with applicable data protection (for this purpose, we use the revised standard contractual clauses of the European Commission, which are available here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj?), unless they are already subject to a legally recognized framework for ensuring data protection and we cannot rely on an exception. An exception may apply, in particular, to legal proceedings abroad, but also in cases of overriding public interests or if contract processing requires such disclosure, if you have consented, or if the data is generally made accessible by you and you have not objected to its processing.

6. Duration of Personal Data Retention
We process and store your personal data for as long as it is necessary for the fulfillment of our contractual and legal obligations or otherwise for the purposes pursued with the processing, i.e., for example, for the duration of the entire business relationship (from initiation, processing to termination of a contract) and beyond, in accordance with legal retention and documentation obligations. It is possible that personal data may be retained for the period during which claims can be asserted against our company and insofar as we are otherwise legally obliged to do so or legitimate business interests require it (e.g., for evidentiary and documentation purposes). As soon as your personal data is no longer required for the aforementioned purposes, it will generally be deleted or anonymized, where possible. For operational data (e.g., system logs), generally shorter retention periods of twelve months or less apply.

7. Data Security
We take appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal data from unauthorized access and misuse, such as the issuance of directives, training, IT and network security solutions, access controls and restrictions, encryption of data carriers and transmissions, pseudonymization, and controls.

8. Obligation to Provide Personal Data
In the context of our business relationship, you must provide the personal data necessary for the establishment and execution of a business relationship and the fulfillment of the associated contractual obligations (you generally do not have a legal obligation to provide us with data). Without this data, we will generally not be able to conclude or process a contract with you (or the entity or person you represent). The website also cannot be used if certain information necessary to ensure data traffic (such as an IP address) is not disclosed.

9. Profiling
We process your personal data partly automatically with the aim of evaluating certain personal aspects (profiling). We use profiling in particular to be able to inform and advise you specifically about products. In doing so, we use evaluation tools that enable us to provide needs-based communication and advertising, including market and opinion research.
For the establishment and execution of the business relationship and otherwise, we generally do not use fully automated individual decision-making (as regulated, for example, in Art. 22 GDPR). Should we use such procedures in individual cases, we will inform you separately, provided this is legally required, and inform you about the related rights.

10. Rights of the Data Subject
Within the scope of the data protection law applicable to you and as provided therein (such as in the case of the GDPR), you have the right to information, rectification, erasure, the right to restriction of data processing, and otherwise to object to our data processing, particularly that for direct marketing purposes, profiling for direct advertising, and other legitimate interests in processing, as well as to the release of certain personal data for transfer to another entity (so-called data portability). Please note, however, that we reserve the right to assert the legally stipulated restrictions on our part, for example, if we are obliged to store or process certain data, have a predominant interest in doing so (insofar as we are permitted to invoke this), or require them for the assertion of claims. Should costs arise for you, we will inform you in advance. We have already informed you about the possibility of withdrawing your consent in Section 3. Please note that the exercise of these rights may conflict with contractual agreements and may have consequences such as premature contract termination or cost implications. In such cases, we will inform you in advance, where this is not already contractually regulated.
The exercise of such rights generally requires you to clearly prove your identity (e.g., by means of an ID copy, where your identity is otherwise not clear or cannot be verified). To assert your rights, you can contact us at the address provided in Section 1.
Furthermore, every data subject has the right to enforce their claims judicially or to lodge a complaint with the competent data protection authority. The competent data protection authority in Switzerland is the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (http://www.edoeb.admin.ch).

11. Amendments
We may amend this Privacy Policy at any time without prior notice. The current version published on our website shall apply. If the Privacy Policy is part of an agreement with you, we will inform you of any updates via email or other suitable means.

DSAT.ch-Template-Privacy-Policy-V2.01 by David Rosenthal and Katrina Frame is licensed under Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).