Our Privacy Statement

This privacy statement was last updated on 12th May 2021

Introduction 

The South African Chamber of Commerce in the USA is strongly committed to protecting personal data. This privacy statement describes why and how we collect and use personal data and provides information about individuals’ rights in relation to personal data. It applies to personal data provided to us, both by individuals themselves or by others. We may use personal data provided to us for any of the purposes described in this privacy statement or as otherwise stated at the point of collection. 

As used in this privacy statement, “SAChamberUSA”, “us”, and “we” refer to the South African Chamber of Commerce in the USA network and/or one or more of its Members that may process your personal information. Each Member in the SAChamberUSA network is a separate legal entity. The data controllers of your personal information are one or more of our members.

This privacy statement also applies to personal data that may be provided to Iconic Marketing, SAChamberUSA’s marketing firm, whether by individuals themselves or by others. Iconic Marketing may use personal information for any of the reasons described in this statement or as otherwise stated at the point of data collection. Iconic Marketing is part of the SAChamberUSA Network. 

SAChamberUSA processes personal data for numerous purposes. Our policy is to be transparent about why and how we process personal data.

Website

This section describes how SA Chamber USA handles personal information collected through the sites on sachamberusa.com and any other SAChamberUSA sites that link to this privacy statement (collectively, “the Websites”).

By using the Website and providing personal information to us, you acknowledge you have read this privacy statement, and, to the extent your consent is necessary and valid under applicable law, you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of such personal information by the SAChamberUSA network and any third party recipients in accordance with this privacy statement.

Third Party Links

The Website may link to third-party sites not controlled by SAChamberUSA and which do not operate under SAChamberUSA’s privacy practices. When you link to third-party sites, SAChamberUSA’s privacy practices no longer apply. We encourage you to review each third-party site’s privacy policy before disclosing any personally identifiable information.

Collection of personal information through the Website

When you use our Website, we may collect information about you and your use of the relevant site, including through cookies and analytics tools. We may collect personal information about you, such as your name, job title, company name, address, email address, and telephone number, either directly from you or by combining information we collect via the Websites with personal information we collect and maintain through other channels (such as client relationship management systems or identification and access management systems, including IP addresses) or as we may lawfully collect from social media or other third-party sites.

Below are examples of how you may provide personal information to us via Websites:

  • searching and browsing for content;
  • subscribing to or ordering newsletters and/or publications;
  • registering for premium online services;
  • participating in “join our mailing list” initiatives;
  • participating in bulletin boards, discussion or message forums;
  • entering Quick Surveys, Quizzes or Benchmarking Surveys;
  • registering for events and conferences;
  • submitting resumes or work history information;
  • contacting us for further information;
  • visiting our Websites while logged into a social media platform; and/or
  • providing us with business cards or other contact information.

We do not intend to collect sensitive information through the Websites unless we are legally required to do so. Examples of sensitive information include race or ethnic origin; political opinions; religious or philosophical beliefs; trade union membership; physical or mental health; genetic data; biometric data; sexual life or sexual orientation; and criminal records. We ask that you do not provide sensitive information of this nature when using the Websites.  If you choose to provide sensitive information to us for any reason, the act of doing so constitutes your explicit consent, where such consent is necessary and valid under your local law, for us to collect and use that information in the ways described in this section of this Privacy statement or as described at the point where you choose to disclose this information.

We also do not actively seek demographic information from visitors to the Websites. However, you may choose to provide such information (including for example when becoming a Registered User, visiting our site from a social media site, submitting a resume, or responding to an online job application). If you choose to provide demographic information to us, the act of doing so constitutes your explicit consent, where such consent is necessary and valid under applicable law, for us to collect and use that information in the ways described in this section of the Privacy statement or as described at the point where you choose to disclose this information.

It is our policy to collect only minimum personal information required. If the Websites seek non-mandatory personal information about you, you will be notified of this at the point of collection. If you believe a Website has collected excessive information about you, please contact us to raise any concerns.

Some pages on the Websites may permit you to send emails to us. Messages sent via the Websites will contain your screen name and email address, as well as any additional information you wish to include in the message.

Registered Users

If you choose to become a Registered User, as part of the registration process you will be asked to provide us with personal information through a registration form. Information we collect may include: your name, email address, password, country, organisation, and job title. Some of the information is required and, if you do not provide it, you will not be able to register and receive the benefits of being a Registered User (for example, obtaining access to premium content). We have marked with an * those registration fields seeking information that you must provide in order to become a Registered User.

For as long as you are a Registered User, you are responsible for providing us with accurate information about you and for keeping that information up to date. You may update your information by editing your user profile in your Account.

Once you are a Registered User, we may combine the information you give us as part of the registration process with information we collect and/or have previously collected through your use of the Websites (such as articles you read, comments you make). As a Registered User, all of the data you provide as part of registration may be tied back to the information we collect or have previously collected about you through your use of the Websites.

We may also match the information you provide us against third-party data to supplement your user profile. For example, if a third party has additional information related to your email address (such as a social media profile URL or a photo), we may match your email address and activity on the Websites (including activity information collected prior to your becoming a Registered User) against that data and then use the third party data for additional marketing activities.

Use of personal information

When you provide personal information to us through Websites, we may use it for any of the purposes described in this section of the privacy statement or as stated at the point of collection (or as obvious from the context of collection), including:

  • to administer and manage the Websites, including to confirm and authenticate your identity and prevent unauthorized access to restricted areas of the site, premium content, or other services limited to Registered Users;
  • to personalize and enrich your browsing experience by displaying content that is more likely to be relevant and of interest to you;
  • to sort and analyze user data (such as determining how many users from the same organization have subscribed to or are using the Websites);
  • to determine the company, organization, institution, or agency that you work for or with which you are otherwise associated;
  • to develop our businesses and services;
  • to conduct benchmarking and data analysis including, for example, regarding usage of the Websites and demographics analyses of their users;
  • to conduct quality and risk management reviews;
  • to understand how people use the features and functions of our Websites in order to improve the user experience;
  • to monitor and enforce compliance with applicable terms of use, including acceptable use policies;  and/or
  • any other purposes for which you provided the information to SAChamberUSA, including any of the purposes given in the “Collection of personal information” section above.

Our Websites do not collect or compile personal information for sale to non-SAChamberUSA parties for consumer marketing purposes.

If you would like to find out more about the different categories of information we collect on the Websites, please review the ‘Collection of personal information’ section.

Registered Users: additional uses of personal information

If you choose to become a Registered User, we may also use your information for the following purposes:

  • to tailor the content within our Websites and across SAChamberUSA digital properties, including content shown to you, to your preferences and interests;
  • to manage our relationship with you or the organization for which you work (for example, by including personal data we collect about you from your use of the Websites in our customer relationship management systems);
  • to provide you with information about us and our services including via personalized marketing messages and/or communications unique to your organization about our products and services;
  • to invite you to attend events, participate in forums, etc.;
  • to conduct quality and risk management reviews;
  • any other purposes for which you provided the information to SAChamberUSA.

Cookies and Beacons

Please see our Cookie Policy.

Data retention

We will retain your personal information on our systems only for as long as we need it, given the purposes for which it was collected, or as required to do so by law. We keep mailing list information until a user unsubscribes from our mailing lists. If you choose to unsubscribe from a mailing list, we may keep certain limited information about you so that we may honor your request.

Marketing

Where we are legally required to obtain your explicit consent to provide you with marketing materials, we will only provide you with such marketing materials if you have provided consent for us to do so. 

If you opt into any subscriptions, you will receive automated emails when content is updated. If you opt into any newsletters, you will receive curated emails known as newsletters. If you select any preferences such as issues, topics, subjects or industries, you may receive email communications related to those self-selected topics.

Unsubscribe

If you want to unsubscribe from mailing lists or any registrations, you should look for and follow the instructions we have provided within the appropriate area(s) of the Websites or in the relevant communications to you.

If you do not wish to receive emails or marketing communications from us, you can at any time contact us to request that such communications cease. If you wish to unsubscribe or no longer receive only certain communications, please identify such communications in your request.

If you choose to unsubscribe from any or all mailings, we may retain information sufficient to identify you so that we can honour your request.

Account Deactivation

If you are a Registered User, you may deactivate your account at any time via the Registered User section of the Websites. If you deactivate your account on the Websites, you will no longer receive the benefits of being a Registered User. If you choose to deactivate your account, we may retain information sufficient to identify you so that we can honour your request.

If you have other registrations with SAChamberUSA or have provided your information to PwC through other means (such as subscribing to a newsletter), those registrations will be maintained unless you take specific action to inform us to cease contacting you.

Any user generated content that you may have created before then will not be anonymised following deactivation, nor will it be immediately removed from our systems or records.

Access to data

We are committed to providing reasonable and practical access that allows visitors to the Websites to identify and correct any inaccuracies in the information we collect about them.

When we keep personal information about you, we are responsible for keeping an accurate record of the information that you have submitted to us. We do not assume responsibility for verifying the ongoing accuracy of your personal information. If you are a Registered User, you may update your personal information; to do so, log in using your account credentials and update your information.

If you have questions about the accuracy of identifying information you previously submitted to SAChamberUSA, or want to have outdated information removed, please contact us. When requested, and provided that it is practical and commercially feasible to comply with the request and there is no legal or regulatory need for us to keep the information, we will delete identifying information from current operational systems.

Children

We understand the importance of protecting children’s privacy, especially in an online environment. The Websites covered by this Privacy statement are not intentionally designed for or directed at children, and our terms and conditions of use require all users to be above the age of majority in their local country. We adhere to laws regarding marketing to children. We never knowingly collect or maintain personal information about individuals under the age of 18.

Marketing

Marketing includes any communications about SAChamberUSA products and services. Where we are legally required to obtain your explicit consent to send you marketing materials, we will only provide you with such marketing materials if you have provided consent for us to do so.

We retain contact information (including name and email address) on our mailing lists until an individual unsubscribes from our mailing lists. If you unsubscribe from our mailings, we may retain limited information sufficient to identify you so that we can honour your opt out request.

SAChamberUSA does not sell personal information to non-SAChamberUSA parties for consumer marketing purposes.

How to unsubscribe from marketing communications

You can at any time contact us to request that we stop sending you email marketing communications. If you want to unsubscribe from mailing lists, you should look for and follow the instructions we have provided in the relevant communications to you.

If you wish to no longer receive only certain communications, please identify such communications in your request.