Meissner’s Notification of Certification Under the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework and Swiss-US Privacy Shield Framework
Effective Date: October 20, 2016
Last Modified: September 15, 2020
Meissner Filtration Products, Inc. (“Meissner”) cares about your privacy. We believe it is important for you to know how we treat, use, and protect the information that you may provide or make available to us. This Privacy Shield Policy (“Policy”) describes how Meissner collects, uses, and discloses certain personally identifiable information that we receive in the U.S. from 1). The European Union (“EU Personal Data”) 2). Switzerland (“Swiss Personal Data”), per the requirements of Article 6 of the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection and 3) The United Kingdom (UK). This Policy supplements our Website Privacy Policy located at www.meissner.com/privacy-policy, and unless specifically defined in this Policy, the terms in this Policy have the same meaning as the Website Privacy Policy.
Meissner recognizes that both the EU, UK, and Switzerland have established strict protections regarding the handling of EU and Swiss Personal Data, respectively, including requirements to provide adequate protection for both EU, UK, and Swiss Personal Data transferred outside of the EU and Switzerland. To provide adequate protection for certain EU, UK, and Swiss Personal Data that Meissner might receive in the U.S. from subsidiaries, affiliates or other entities in the EU, UK, and Switzerland, Meissner has elected to self-certify to both the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework and the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Privacy Shield”). Meissner has certified to the Department of Commerce that it adheres to the Privacy Shield Principles of Notice, Choice, Accountability for Onward Transfer, Security, Data Integrity and Purpose Limitation, Access, and Recourse, Enforcement, and Liability. If there is conflict between the terms in this privacy policy and the Privacy Shield Principles, the Privacy Shield Principles shall govern.
For purposes of enforcing compliance with the Privacy Shield, Meissner is subject to the investigatory and enforcement authority of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. For more information about the Privacy Shield program, see the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Privacy Shield website located at: https://www.privacyshield.gov. To review Meissner’s representation on the Privacy Shield list, see the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Privacy Shield self-certification list located at: https://www.privacyshield.gov/list.
SCOPE
This Policy applies to all personal information received by Meissner in the United States from the EU, the UK, and Switzerland, in any format, including electronic, paper or oral.
DEFINITIONS
For purposes of this Policy, the following definitions shall apply:
“Third-Party Agent” and “Service Provider” means any third party that collects or uses personal information under the instructions of, and solely for, Meissner.
“Personal information” means any information or set of information that identifies or could be used by or on behalf of Meissner to identify an individual. Personal information does not include information that is encoded or anonymized, or publicly available information that has not been combined with non-public personal information.
OTHER COVERED ENTITIES
The following related entities are also covered by Meissner’s Privacy Policy:
Meissner Filtration Products, GmbH
Meissner Filtration Products, S.r.l.
Meissner Filtration AG
Meissner Corporation
Meissner Filtration Products, Ltd.
PERSONAL DATA COLLECTION AND USE
Meissner’s Website Privacy Policy located at www.meissner.com/privacy-policy describes the categories of EU, UK, and Swiss Personal Data that we may receive in the U.S. as well as the purposes for which we use that EU and Swiss Personal Data. Meissner does not collect any of your personal information (such as a name, address or e-mail address) unless you register or have registered to request literature, products, or services. When you make a request at Meissner.com electronically, or by phone call, we ask for your name, e-mail address, mailing address, zip code, occupation, industry, and technical requirements for filters and single-use systems, including applications, and any inquiries or comments you may wish to provide. Meissner processes EU, UK, and Swiss Personal Data to fulfill requests for literature, products, or services; to customize the information and content you receive via e-mail or regular mail; to notify our local distributors or agents of your request for information or services so they can provide immediate assistance; to contact you about further details of your filtration or single-use systems application needs; to learn of your interest in new Meissner products; to send you periodic news on our products, services, and web site; to better understand your needs and how we can improve our websites, products and services; and to perform corporate services for our affiliates and subsidiaries. Meissner will only process EU, UK, and Swiss Personal Data in ways that are compatible with the purpose that Meissner collected it for, or for purposes that the individual later authorizes. Generally, Meissner offers a choice to limit the use and disclosure of your personal data if we hold the EU, UK, or Swiss Personal Data about you. Before we use your EU, UK, or Swiss Personal Data for a purpose that is materially different than the purpose we collected it for or that you later authorized, we will provide you with the opportunity to opt-out or, in certain circumstances, to opt-in. You may change your mind and opt-out of further processing. Meissner maintains reasonable procedures to help ensure that EU and Swiss Personal Data are reliable for its intended use, accurate, complete, and current.
DATA TRANSFERS TO THIRD PARTIES
Third-Party Agents or Service Providers. We may transfer EU, UK, or Swiss Personal Data to third-party agents or service providers who perform functions on our behalf as described in our Website Privacy Policy, including: for processing, fulfilling and transacting related commercial activities. Where required by the Privacy Shield, we enter into written agreements with those third-party agents and service providers requiring them to provide the same level of protection the Privacy Shield requires and limiting their use of the data to the specified services provided on our behalf. We take reasonable and appropriate steps to ensure that third-party agents and service providers process EU, UK, and Swiss Personal Data in accordance with our Privacy Shield obligations and to stop and remediate any unauthorized processing. Under certain circumstances, we may remain liable for the acts of our third-party agents or service providers who perform services on our behalf for their handling of EU, UK, and Swiss Personal Data that we transfer to them.
Disclosures for National Security or Law Enforcement. Under certain circumstances, we may be required to disclose your EU, UK, or Swiss Personal Data in response to valid requests by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements.
SECURITY
Meissner maintains reasonable and appropriate security measures to protect EU, UK, and Swiss Personal Data from loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction in accordance with the Privacy Shield.
ACCESS RIGHTS
As set forth in this paragraph, you may have the right to access the EU, UK, or Swiss Personal Data that we hold about you and to request that we correct, amend, or delete it if it is inaccurate or processed in violation of the Privacy Shield. These access rights may not apply in some cases, including where providing access is unreasonably burdensome or expensive under the circumstances or where it would violate the rights of someone other than the individual requesting access. If you would like to request access to, correction, amendment, or deletion of your EU, UK, or Swiss Personal Data, you can submit a written request to the contact information provided below. We may request specific information from you to confirm your identity. In some circumstances, we may charge a reasonable fee for access to your information.
QUESTIONS OR COMPLAINTS
Questions or comments regarding this Policy should be submitted to the Meissner Privacy Officer by mail to:
Meissner Privacy Officer
Meissner Filtration Products, Inc.
1001 Flynn Rd.
Camarillo, CA 93012
USA
Or by e-mail to the Meissner Privacy Officer: privacyofficer@meissner.com
You may also contact our EU affiliate with any questions or concerns:
Germany
Meissner Filtration Products, GmbH
Am Kuemmerling 24-26
D-55294 Bodenheim
Germany
Tel: +49 6135 71691 252
Fax: +49 6135 71691 299
Italy
Meissner Filtration Products S.r.l.
Via Pavia, 7 – Loc. Prado
27010 Cura Carpignano (PV)
Italy
Tel: +39 0382 583022
Fax: +39 0382 583484
Switzerland
Meissner Filtration AG
Alte Jonastrassee 83
Rapperswill
8640
Switzerland
Tel: +41 5545 08319
Fax: +41 554508312
Ireland
Meissner Filtration Products, Ltd.
Castlebar Business & Technology Park
Drumconlon
Castlebar
Co. Mayo
F23 P961
Ireland
Tel: +353 (0) 94 901 7500
We will investigate and attempt to resolve any complaints or disputes regarding the use or disclosure of your Personal Data within 45 days of receiving your complaint. For any unresolved EU and UK complaints, we have agreed to cooperate with the European Data Protection Authorities (“EDPA”). If you are unsatisfied with the resolution of your complaint, you may contact the EDPA at http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/article-29/structure/data-protection-authorities/index_en.htm for further information and assistance. For any unresolved Swiss complaints, we have agreed to cooperate with the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner under the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework with respect to all types of data. If you are unsatisfied with the resolution of your complaint, you may refer your complaint to either the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner or the Federal Trade Commission at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Binding Arbitration If you take the steps set forth in this paragraph, you may have the option to select binding arbitration for the resolution of your complaint under certain circumstances, provided you have taken the following steps: (1) raised your complaint directly with Meissner and provided us the opportunity to resolve the issue; (2) made use of the independent dispute resolution mechanism identified above; and (3) raised the issue through the relevant data protection authority and allowed the U.S. Department of Commerce an opportunity to resolve the complaint at no cost to you. For more information on binding arbitration, see U.S. Department of Commerce’s Privacy Shield Framework: Annex I (Binding Arbitration).
CONTACT US
If you have any questions about this Policy or would like to request access to your EU Personal Data, please contact us at: www.meissner.com/contact or via e-mail to the Meissner Privacy Office: privacyoffice@meissner.com.
CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
We reserve the right to amend this Policy from time to time consistent with the Privacy Shield’s requirements.