Privacy policy

This policy explains what personal data the Public Association “Independent Think-Tank Expert-Grup” (“Expert-Grup”, “we”) processes when you use expert-grup.org, subscribe to our newsletter, write to us or register for an event: for what purpose, on what legal basis, who we share it with, how long we keep it and what your rights are.

1. Who is responsible for your data

The data controller is the Public Association “Independent Think-Tank Expert-Grup”, IDNO 1011620002685, 3 Vlaicu Pârcălab St., Chișinău, MD-2009, Republic of Moldova. For any question about your data, write to info@expert-grup.org or call +373 22 999 312.

We process personal data in line with the personal data protection legislation of the Republic of Moldova and, where it applies, the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (“GDPR”).

2. What data we process and why

When you visit the site

For every request, the server automatically records the IP address, date and time, the page requested, the referring page and the type of browser and device. We use these logs only to keep the site running and secure, for example to stop attacks or abuse, and they are deleted automatically after 14 days at most. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in keeping the site secure and available.

The number of views shown on publications and articles is an anonymous counter: we do not record who read a page. So that the same visit is not counted twice, your browser keeps a temporary marker that disappears when you close the tab.

Visit statistics (only with your consent)

If you accept analytics cookies, we use Google Analytics 4 to learn, in aggregate, how many people visit, which pages and publications are read and where visitors come from. Google Analytics 4 does not store full IP addresses. With the same consent we also use Meta Pixel to measure the results of our Facebook and Instagram campaigns; Meta may link the visit to your account there. We do not use this data to identify you ourselves. Legal basis: your consent, which you can withdraw at any time through “Cookie settings” in the site footer. Details are in the Cookie policy.

Newsletter

When you subscribe, we process your email address and, if you provide them, your name, institution and topics of interest, to send you our newsletter and invitations to our events. The subscriber list is managed in Mailchimp, which also gives us aggregate statistics on email opens. Legal basis: your consent. You can unsubscribe at any time with the link in every email; after that we send you nothing more.

Contact form

When you write to us through the contact form, we process your name, email address, subject and message, as well as your IP address and browser, to protect the form against automated messages. We use them only to reply to you. Legal basis: your request and our legitimate interest in answering it. We keep the correspondence for at most 2 years after the last message, then delete it.

Event registration

For conferences, round tables and other events we ask for the data in the registration form (usually name, email, institution and position, sometimes a phone number), together with your IP address and browser. We use them to organise the event and to send you practical information about it. Legal basis: your registration and our legitimate interest in organising the event. We keep this data for at most 2 years after the event.

We take photos and video recordings at our events and may publish them on the site and on our social media. If you do not wish to appear in them, tell us when you register or at the event.

Team accounts

The site’s admin panel is used only by the Expert-Grup team. For these accounts we process the name, email, role and an activity log (including IP address), to protect access and to know who changed the content.

3. Who we share data with

We do not sell data. We share it only with providers that help us run the site and process it on our behalf, under a contract and only on our instructions:

• iHost (Republic of Moldova): hosting of the site and its database;
• Mailchimp (Intuit Inc., USA): subscriber list and newsletter delivery;
• Resend (Resend Inc., USA): delivery of the site’s automatic emails, such as confirmations and notifications to the team;
• Google Analytics (Google Ireland Ltd.): visit statistics, only with your consent;
• Meta Pixel (Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd.): measuring our Facebook and Instagram campaigns, only with your consent.

We disclose data to public authorities only when the law requires it.

Some pages include content from other services: YouTube videos (in privacy-enhanced mode) and Vimeo videos, Infogram, Datawrapper or Flourish charts and the Google Maps map on the contact page. The map and the videos load only after you click on them; only then does the service receive your IP address and may set its own cookies, under its own privacy policy. Interactive charts load together with the page they are on.

4. Transfers outside the Republic of Moldova and the European Union

Mailchimp, Resend, Google and Meta may process data in the United States. Such transfers rely on the safeguards provided by law, such as the standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission or, where applicable, the EU–US Data Privacy Framework.

5. How we protect data

The site uses encrypted connections only (HTTPS). Access to the data collected is limited to the team members who need it for their work, through protected personal accounts, and backups are kept with our hosting provider.

6. Your rights

Regarding your data, you have the right:

• to know whether we process data about you and to receive a copy of it;
• to have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected;
• to have your data erased or its processing restricted;
• to object to processing based on our legitimate interest;
• to receive the data you gave us in a structured format, to pass it to another controller;
• to withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting the processing carried out before.

For any of these requests, write to info@expert-grup.org. We reply within 30 days at most. Before acting on a request, we may ask you to confirm your identity.

If you believe we process your data unlawfully, you can lodge a complaint with the National Center for Personal Data Protection of the Republic of Moldova (datepersonale.md) or, if you live in the European Union, with the data protection authority of your country.

7. Children

The site is intended for the general public, researchers and professionals. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 16.

8. Changes to this policy

We update this policy when we change the services we use or when the law changes. The date of the last update is shown under the title.