Privacy policy

Data protection and security are important to us, as is your trust in our society and services.  The SOE is committed to process your personal data responsibly and in compliance with applicable data protection laws. This Online Privacy Notice describes how we collect and process your personal data when you use www.soevision.org (including any sub-sites thereof, such as the official websites of the SOE Congresses, which is accessible via www.soevision.org).

This policy covers SOE’s use of personal information that is collected when you use www.soevision.org. Whenever you provide such personal information, we will treat that information in accordance with this policy. When using your personal information SOE will act in accordance with current legislation and aim to meet current Internet best practice.

Collection, use and storage of your personal information

  • We collect and process your personal data responsibly and in accordance with legal requirements. We process it only for the purposes for which you provide the personal data to us or as set forth in this Online Privacy Notice.
  • We apply technical and organisational security measures adequate to the risk to protect the confidentiality and integrity of the personal data collected through this website. We store your personal data only to the extent and for as long as this is necessary for SOE to fulfil the purposes for which the data was collected, or, when applicable, as long as SOE is legally required to retain the personal data.
  • Collection, retention and use of personal information may occur if a user interacts with the SOE website, by either registering with the site or participating in one of SOE services. Users may be required to provide an email address, so that SOE is able to respond to inquiries and/or requests.
  • SOE may use email addresses provided by users to notify them of upcoming events organised or approved by SOE. Users who do not wish to receive such emails should not opt-in when registering or interacting with the SOE website. Users are able to opt-out or change their preferences for receiving such information at any time.
  • We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as you use the service you have requested and remove it in the event that the purpose has been met.  We will ensure that all personal information supplied is held securely, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

Sharing of your personal information

  • In connection with the services provided on the website, it may be necessary to share your personal data with external service providers or professionals
  • Specifically, such sharing of data may be necessary to respond to your inquiry, to provide access to additional information, to manage your participation in Congresses (including scientific programme content), SOE Grant applications, SOE Fellowships applications. SOE Committees or to follow up on your inquiry and inform you on new services or offers.

Access to your personal information
You have the right to request a copy of the personal information SOE holds about you and to have any inaccuracies corrected. Please address requests to the SOE Secretariat at secretariat@soevision.org

Use of cookies and IP address 

  • Cookies are small pieces of information stored by your browser on your computer, which are used to store information that would otherwise be lost when the browser was closed. When a user logs onto SOE’s website, a cookie is created and placed on the computer so the user can access the restricted content. The cookie contains no personal information and is used by the website to automatically log in the user on subsequent visits.
  • A unique number called an IP address identifies each computer on the Internet. Each time users connect to the Internet, their computer is assigned an IP address. When users connect to SOE’s website, the IP address is stored for statistical purposes.
  • For full information on Cookies and how SOE uses them please visit https://soevision.org/cookie-policy/
  • External links 
    SOE’s website contains links to other external websites that do not fall under its domain. SOE is not responsible for the privacy practices and the content of such external websites.

Third parties
SOE does not sell or give away personal information to third parties.

SOE is the controller in relation to the collection and processing of personal data through this website. SOE is a Society incorporated under the laws of The Netherlands. Our Secretariat office is based in the United Kingdom.

The European Society of Ophthalmology reserves the right to amend the Privacy Policy at any time for any reason. This Privacy Policy only applies to information collected by SOE through SOE’s Website. 

Updated November 2022