Privacy Policy

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Privacy Policy

RBS Data Inc (“RBS”) is a data analytics and direct marketing company that supplies information to some of the largest companies in multiple industries around the world. To provide the highest quality service to its clients, RBS needs to gather and use certain information about individuals.

This Data Protection and Privacy Standard (the “Standard”) for Compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) sets out how RBS (which shall include “we”, “our”, “us”, or the “Company) handle the Personal Data of our customers, suppliers, employees, contacts, workers and other third-parties.

This Standard applies to all Personal Data RBS Processes regardless of the media on which that data is stored or whether it relates to past or present employees, workers, customers, clients, supplier contacts, shareholders, website users or any other Data Subject.

This Standard applies to all Company Personnel in conducting the Company’s business. All Company Personnel are required to read, understand and comply with this Standard when necessary to the Processing of Personal Data on RBS’s behalf, and to attend any trainings established by RBS on its requirements. Compliance with this Standard is mandatory for all Company Personnel.

WHY DOES RBS NEED THIS STANDARD

RBS understands that its business activities could present potential risks to individuals, its clients and to the company as a whole. This policy describes how this Personal Data must be collected, handled and stored to meet RBS’s data protection standards — and to comply with the GDPR. This Standard is intended to help protect the rights of RBS’s employees, clients, and global partners, and to protect itself from the risks of a data breach.

This Standard (together with any Related Policies and Privacy Guidelines) is confidential and proprietary to RBS and cannot be shared with third-parties, clients or regulators without prior authorization from the DPO, Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), or Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) and only when done so in accordance with RBS’s confidentiality policies.

1: DEFINITIONS:

Automated Decision-Making (ADM) is when a decision is made which is based solely on Automated Processing (including profiling) which produces legal effects or significantly affects an individual. The GDPR prohibits Automated Decision-Making (unless certain conditions are met) but not Automated Processing.

Automated Processing is any form of automated processing of Personal Data consisting of the use of Personal Data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to an individual, in particular to analyze or predict aspects concerning that individual’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location or movements. Profiling is an example of Automated Processing.

Company Name refers to RBS Data Inc, a Nebraska corporation company, including any subsidiaries or affiliated entities.

Company Personnel are all employees, contractors, agents, consultants, directors, officers, members and others identified as such.

Consent is an agreement which must be freely given, specific, informed and be an unambiguous indication of the Data Subject’s wishes by which they, by a statement or by a clear positive action, signifies agreement to the Processing of Personal Data relating to them.

Data Controller is the person or organization that determines when, why and how to process Personal Data. It is responsible for establishing practices and policies in line with the GDPR. RBS is the Data Controller of all Personal Data relating to the Company Personnel and Personal Data used in RBS’s business for commercial purposes.

Data Subject is a living, identified or identifiable individual about whom RBS holds Personal Data. Data Subjects may be nationals or residents of any country and may have legal rights regarding their Personal Data.

Data Privacy Impact Assessment (DPIA) is a tool and assessment used to identify and reduce the risk of a data processing activity. DPIA can be carried out as part of Privacy by Design and should be conducted for all major system or business change programs involving the Processing of Personal Data.

Data Protection Officer (DPO) is the person required to be appointed in specific circumstances under the GDPR. Where a mandatory DPO has not been appointed, this term means a data protection manager or other voluntary appointment of a DPO or refers to the Company data privacy team with responsibility for data protection compliance.

EEA are the 28 countries in the European Union (“EU”), Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Explicit Consent is consent which requires a very clear and specific statement (that is, not just action).

General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) refers to the General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679). Personal Data is subject to the legal safeguards specified in the GDPR.

Personal Data is any information identifying a Data Subject or information relating to a Data Subject that RBS can identify (directly or indirectly) from that data alone or in combination with other identifiers it possesses or can reasonably access. Personal Data includes Sensitive Personal Data and Pseudonymized Personal Data but excludes anonymous data or data that has had the identity of an individual permanently removed or scrubbed. Personal data can be factual (for example, a name, email address, location or date of birth) or an opinion about that person’s actions or behavior.

Personal Data Breach is any act or omission that compromises the security, confidentiality, integrity or availability of Personal Data or the physical, technical, administrative or organizational safeguards that RBS or its third-party service providers put in place to protect it. The loss, or unauthorized access, disclosure or acquisition of Personal Data is a Personal Data Breach.

Privacy by Design refers to the implementing of appropriate technical and organizational measures in an effective manner to ensure compliance with the GDPR.

Privacy Guidelines refer to the Company’s privacy/GDPR related guidelines provided to assist in interpreting and implementing this Standard and Related Policies

Privacy Notices (also referred to as Fair Processing Notices) or Privacy Policies are separate notices setting out information that may be provided to Data Subjects when the Company collects information about them. These notices may take the form of general privacy statements applicable to a specific group of individuals (for example, employee privacy notices or the website privacy policy) or they may be stand-alone, one-time privacy statements covering Processing related to a specific purpose.

Processing or Process refers to any activity that involves the use of Personal Data. It includes obtaining, recording or holding the data, or carrying out any operation or set of operations on the data including organizing, amending, retrieving, using, disclosing, erasing or destroying it. Processing also includes transmitting or transferring Personal Data to third-parties.

Pseudonymization or Pseudonymized refers to replacing information that directly or indirectly identifies an individual with one or more artificial identifiers or pseudonyms so that the person, to whom the data relates, cannot be identified without the use of additional information which is meant to be kept separately and secure.

Related Policies are the Company’s policies, operating procedures or processes (to the extent deemed necessary and applicable by the Company) related to this Standard and designed to protect Personal Data.

Sensitive Personal Data is information revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or similar beliefs, trade union membership, physical or mental health conditions, sexual life, sexual orientation, biometric or genetic data, and Personal Data relating to criminal offences and convictions.

2. SCOPE

RBS recognizes that the correct and lawful treatment of Personal Data will maintain confidence in the organization and will provide for successful business operations. Protecting the confidentiality and integrity of Personal Data is a critical responsibility that RBS takes seriously at all times. The Company recognizes that it can be exposed to substantial fines depending on the breach, for its failure to comply with the provisions of the GDPR.

All directors, officers and managers are responsible for ensuring all Company Personnel comply with this Standard and need to implement appropriate practices, processes, controls and training to ensure such compliance. The DPO is responsible for overseeing this Standard and, as applicable, developing Related Policies and Privacy Guidelines.

Company Personnel should contact the DPO with any questions about the operation of this Standard, and in particular, in the following circumstances:

(a) if they are unsure of the lawful basis which they are relying on to process Personal Data (including the legitimate interests used by the Company);

(b) if they need to rely on Consent and/or need to capture Explicit Consent;

(c) if they need to draft Privacy Notices or Fair Processing Notices;

(d) if they are unsure about the retention period for the Personal Data being Processed;

(e) if they are unsure about what security or other measures you need to implement to protect Personal Data;

(f) if there has been a Personal Data Breach;

(g) if they are unsure on what basis to transfer Personal Data outside the EEA;

(h) if they need any assistance dealing with any rights invoked by a Data Subject;

(i) whenever they are engaging in a significant new, or change in, Processing activity which is likely to require a DPIA or plan to use Personal Data for purposes others than what it was collected for;

(j) if they plan to undertake any activities involving Automated Processing including profiling or Automated Decision-Making;

(k) if they need help complying with applicable law when carrying out direct marketing activities; or

(l) if they need help with any contracts or other areas in relation to sharing Personal Data with third-parties (including vendors).

3. PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION PRINCIPLES

Where necessary, RBS adheres to the principles relating to Processing of Personal Data set out in the GDPR which requires Personal Data to be:

(a) Processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner (Lawfulness, Fairness and Transparency).

(b) collected only for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes (Purpose Limitation).

(c) adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which it is Processed (Data Minimization).

(d) accurate and where necessary kept up to date (Accuracy).

(e) kept in a form which does not permit identification of Data Subjects for longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the data is Processed (Storage Limitation).

(f) Processed in a manner that ensures its security using appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect against unauthorized or unlawful Processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage (Security, Integrity and Confidentiality).

(g) transferred to another country with appropriate safeguards being in place (Transfer Limitation).

(h) made available to Data Subjects and Data Subjects allowed to exercise certain rights in relation to their Personal Data (Data Subject’s Rights and Requests).

RBS is responsible for and must be able to demonstrate compliance with the data protection principles listed above (Accountability).

4. LAWFULNESS, FAIRNESS, TRANSPARENCY PRINCIPLES

(a) Lawfulness and Fairness:

Personal data must be Processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the Data Subject. Personal Data may only be collected, Processed and shared fairly and lawfully and for specified purposes. The GDPR restricts actions regarding Personal Data to certain specified lawful purposes which includes, but is not limited to:

the Data Subject has given his or her Consent;
the Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with the Data Subject;
iii. to meet the Company’s legal compliance obligations.;

to protect the Data Subject’s vital interests;
to pursue legitimate interests for purposes where they are not overridden because the Processing prejudices the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of Data Subjects. The purposes for which the Company processes Personal Data for legitimate interests need to be set out in applicable Privacy Notices or Fair Processing Notices; or
any other purpose permissible under the GDPR which the Company deems necessary.

These are not intended to prevent Processing, but to ensure that Personal Data is Processed fairly and without adversely affecting the Data Subject. In the Processing of Personal Data, the Company must identify and document the legal ground being relied on for each Processing activity in accordance with any applicable Company guidelines that may exist from time to time.

(b) Consent:

A Data Controller must only process Personal Data on the basis of one or more of the lawful bases set out in the GDPR, which includes Consent.

A Data Subject consents to the Processing of their Personal Data if they indicate agreement clearly either by a statement or positive action to the Processing. Consent requires affirmative action so silence, pre-marked boxes or inactivity are unlikely to be sufficient. If Consent is given in a document which deals with other matters, then the Consent must be kept separate from those other matters.

Data Subjects must be easily able to withdraw Consent to Processing at any time and withdrawal must be promptly honored. Consent may need to be refreshed if you intend to Process Personal Data for a different and incompatible purpose which was not disclosed when the Data Subject first consented.

Unless the Company can rely on another legal basis of Processing, Explicit Consent is typically required for Processing Sensitive Personal Data, for Automated Decision-Making and for cross border data transfers. Usually RBS will be relying on another legal basis (and not require Explicit Consent) to Process most types of Sensitive Data. Where Explicit Consent is required, the Company may be required to issue a Fair Processing Notice to the Data Subject to capture Explicit Consent.

RBS will use it best efforts to evidence Consent captured and keep records of all Consents so that the Company can demonstrate compliance with Consent requirements.

(c) Transparency:

The GDPR requires Data Controllers to provide detailed, specific information to Data Subjects depending on whether the information was collected directly from Data Subjects or from elsewhere. Such information must be provided through appropriate Privacy Notices or Fair Processing Notices which must be concise, transparent, intelligible, easily accessible, and in clear and plain language so that a Data Subject can easily understand them.

Whenever RBS collects Personal Data directly from Data Subjects, including for human resources or employment purposes, it must provide the Data Subject with all the information required by the GDPR including the identity of the Data Controller and DPO, as well as how and why it will use, Process, disclose, protect and retain that Personal Data through a Fair Processing Notice which must be presented when the Data Subject first provides the Personal Data directly to RBS.

When Personal Data is collected indirectly (for example, from a third-party or publicly available source), RBS should provide the Data Subject with all the information required by the GDPR as soon as possible after collecting/receiving the data. RBS should also check that the Personal Data was collected by the third-party in accordance with the GDPR and on a basis which contemplates RBS’s proposed Processing of that Personal Data.

5. PURPOSE LIMITATION

Personal Data must be collected only for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes. It must not be further Processed in any manner incompatible with those purposes. Personal Data should not be used for new, different or incompatible purposes from that disclosed when it was first obtained unless the Data Subject has been informed of the new purposes and they have Consented where necessary.

6. DATA MINIMIZATION

Personal Data must be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which it is Processed. Personal Data should only be Processed when performance of job duties requires it and should not be Processed for any reason unrelated to such job duties.

Personal Data should only be collected if it is required to perform one’s job duties. This means that RBS should not collect excessive data and that RBS ensures that any Personal Data collected is adequate and relevant for the intended purposes. When Personal Data is no longer needed for specified purposes, it should be deleted or anonymized in accordance with the Company’s data retention guidelines.

7. ACCURACY

Personal Data must be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. It must be corrected or deleted without delay when inaccurate. RBS will attempt to ensure that the Personal Data it uses and holds is accurate, complete, kept up to date, and is relevant to the purpose for which it is collected. RBS should check the accuracy of any Personal Data at the point of collection and at regular intervals afterwards if possible. RBS should also take all reasonable steps to destroy or amend inaccurate or out-of-date Personal Data.

8. STORAGE LIMITATION

Personal Data must not be kept in an identifiable form for longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the data is processed. Personal Data should not be kept in a form which permits the identification of the Data Subject for longer than needed for the legitimate business purpose or purposes for which RBS originally collected it, including for the purpose of satisfying any legal, accounting or reporting requirements.

The Company will maintain retention policies and procedures to ensure Personal Data is deleted after a reasonable time for the purposes for which it was being held, unless a law requires such data to be kept for a minimum time. All reasonable steps will be taken when necessary to destroy or erase from RBS’s systems all Personal Data that is no longer required in accordance with all the Company’s applicable records retention schedules and policies. This includes requiring third-parties to delete such data where applicable.

Data Subjects should be informed of the period for which data is stored and how that period is determined in any applicable Privacy Notice or Fair Processing Notice.

9. ASECURITY INTEGRITY AND CONFIDENTIALITY

(a) Protecting Personal Data:

Personal Data must be secured by appropriate technical and organizational measures against unauthorized or unlawful Processing, and against accidental loss, destruction or damage.

RBS plans to continually develop, implement and maintain safeguards which are appropriate for: (i) a company of this size, scope and business, (ii) the available resources, (iii) the amount of Personal Data that RBS owns or maintains for itself or on behalf of others, and (iv) identified risks (including use of encryption and Pseudonymization where applicable). RBS will regularly evaluate and test the effectiveness of those safeguards to ensure the security of its Processing of Personal Data. Company Personnel are responsible for protecting the Personal Data held by RBS. RBS expects all Company Personnel to implement reasonable and appropriate security measures in accordance or conjunction with the safeguards described above, against unlawful or unauthorized Processing of Personal Data and against the accidental loss of, or damage to, Personal Data. Company Personnel must exercise particular care in protecting Sensitive Personal Data from loss and unauthorized access, use or disclosure.

Company Personnel must follow all procedures and technologies we put in place to maintain the security of all Personal Data from the point of collection to the point of destruction. You may only transfer Personal Data to third-party service providers who agree to comply with the required policies and procedures and who agree to put adequate measures in place, as requested.

RBS’s data security safeguards are intended to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the Personal Data. When interpreting and using this Standard:

Confidentiality means that only people who have a need to know and are authorized to use the Personal Data can access it.
Integrity means that Personal Data is accurate and suitable for the purpose for which it is processed.
iii. Availability means that authorized users are able to access the Personal Data when they need it for authorized purposes.
Company Personnel must comply with and not attempt to circumvent the administrative, physical and technical safeguards RBS implements and maintains in accordance with the GDPR and relevant standards to protect Personal Data.

(b) Reporting A Personal Data Breach:

The GDPR requires Data Controllers make certain notifications in the event of any Personal Data Breach. RBS has implemented (or will implement) procedures to deal with any suspected Personal Data Breach and will notify those entities who are required to received notifications pursuant to applicable law.

If any Company Personnel knows or suspects that a Personal Data Breach has occurred, they are advised not to attempt to investigate the matter personally. Rather, Company Personnel should immediately contact the person or team designated as the key point of contact for Personal Data Breaches (for example, and in certain instances said contact could be the DPO, the information technology or security department, the legal department, or any other department identified by the Company). Company Personnel are also advised to preserve all evidence relating to the potential Personal Data Breach to the best of their ability.

10. TRANSFER LIMITATION

The GDPR restricts data transfers to countries outside the EEA in order to ensure that the level of data protection afforded to individuals by the GDPR is not undermined. It is important to note that this transfer restriction does not necessarily apply to data transfers originating outside the EEA, whether to EEA or non-EEA countries. Transferring of Personal Data originating in one country across borders occurs when data is transmitted, sent, viewed or accessed in or to a different country. Personal Data should only be transferred outside the EEA if one of the following conditions applies:

(a) the European Commission has issued a decision confirming that the country to which RBS transfers the Personal Data ensures an adequate level of protection for the rights and freedoms of the Data Subjects;

(b) appropriate safeguards are in place such as binding corporate rules (BCR), standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission, an approved code of conduct or a certification mechanism, a copy of which can be obtained from the DPO;

(c) the Data Subject has provided Explicit Consent to the proposed transfer after being informed of any potential risks; or

(d) the transfer is necessary for one of the other reasons set out in the GDPR including the performance of a contract between RBS and the Data Subject, reasons of public interest, to establish, exercise or defend legal claims or to protect the vital interests of the Data Subject where the Data Subject is physically or legally incapable of giving Consent and, in some limited cases, for RBS’s legitimate interest.

All Company Personnel must comply with the Company’s guidelines on cross border data transfers.

11. DATA SUBJECT’S RIGHTS AND REQUESTS

Data Subjects have rights when it comes to how RBS handles their Personal Data. These include rights to:

(a) withdraw Consent to Processing at any time;

(b) receive certain information about the Data Controller’s Processing activities;

(c) request access to their Personal Data that is being held;

(d) prevent the use of their Personal Data for direct marketing purposes;

(e) ask RBS to erase Personal Data if it is no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which it was collected or Processed or to rectify inaccurate data or to complete incomplete data;

(f) restrict Processing in specific circumstances;

(g) challenge Processing which has been justified on the basis of RBS’s legitimate interests or in the public interest;

(h) request a copy of an agreement under which Personal Data is transferred outside of the EEA (unless otherwise contractually prohibited from doing so;

(i) object to decisions based solely on Automated Processing, including profiling (ADM);

(j) prevent Processing that is likely to cause damage or distress to the Data Subject or anyone else;

(k) be notified of a Personal Data Breach which is likely to result in high risk to their rights and freedoms;

(l) make a complaint to the supervisory authority; and

(m) in limited circumstances, receive or ask for their Personal Data to be transferred to a third-party in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.

RBS will attempt to verify the identity of an individual requesting data under any of the rights listed above and will not willingly disclose Personal Data to a third-party without proper authorization. If any Company Personnel receives such a request from a Data Subject, they must immediately forward it to their supervisor or the DPO for appropriate response.

It is important to note that given the nature of RBS’s business, the likelihood of a Data Subject seeking to enforce any or all of their rights under the GDPR is not high, however, all Company Personnel are expected to understand and comply as necessary.

12. ACCOUNTABILITY

a) The Data Controller must implement appropriate technical and organizational measures in an effective manner, to ensure compliance with data protection principles. The Data Controller is responsible for, and must be able to demonstrate, compliance with the applicable data protection principles.

(b) The Company must have adequate resources and controls in place to ensure and to document GDPR compliance, such as for example:

appointing a suitably qualified DPO (where necessary) and an executive accountable for data privacy;
implementing Privacy by Design when Processing Personal Data and completing DPIAs where Processing presents a high risk to rights and freedoms of Data Subjects;
iii. integrating data protection into internal documents including this Standard, Related Policies, Privacy Guidelines, Privacy Notices or Fair Processing Notices;

regularly training Company Personnel (as deemed necessary) on the GDPR, this Standard, Related Policies and Privacy Guidelines and data protection matters including, for example, Data Subject’s rights, Consent, legal basis, DPIA and Personal Data Breaches. The Company must maintain a record of training attendance by Company Personnel; and
regularly testing the privacy measures implemented and conducting periodic reviews and/or audits to assess compliance, including using results of testing to demonstrate compliance improvement effort.

(c) Sharing Personal Data:

Generally, under the GDPR, RBS would not be allowed to share Personal Data with third-parties unless certain safeguards and contractual arrangements have been put in place.

Typically, RBS only shares the Personal Data it holds with another employee, agent or representative of the Company (which includes its subsidiaries and affiliates) if the recipient has a job-related need to know the information and the transfer complies with any applicable cross-border transfer restrictions. Furthermore, except in those certain instances where RBS is providing Personal Data as part of the services it offers to vendors and clients, RBS will only share the Personal Data it holds with third-parties if:

they have a need to know the information for the purposes of providing the contracted services;
sharing the Personal Data complies with the Privacy Notice provided to the Data Subject and, if required, the Data Subject’s Consent has been obtained;
iii. the third-party has agreed to comply with the required data security standards, policies and procedures and put adequate security measures in place;

the transfer complies with any applicable cross border transfer restrictions; and/or
a fully executed written contract that contains GDPR approved third-party clauses has been obtained.

(d) Record Keeping:

The GDPR requires RBS to keep full and accurate records of all of its data Processing activities. RBS will attempt to keep and maintain accurate corporate records reflecting its Processing, including records of Data Subjects’ Consents and procedures for obtaining Consents in accordance with any of the Company’s applicable record keeping guidelines.

These records should include, at a minimum, the name and contact details of the Data Controller and the DPO (if one such exists), clear descriptions of the Personal Data types, Data Subject types, Processing activities, Processing purposes, third-party recipients of the Personal Data, Personal Data storage locations, Personal Data transfers, the Personal Data’s retention period and a description of the security measures in place. In order to create such records, data maps should be created which should include the detail set out above together with appropriate data flows.

(e) Training and Audit:

To the extent necessary, RBS will ensure that all Company Personnel have undergone adequate training to enable them to comply with data privacy laws. RBS shall also regularly test its systems and processes to assess compliance.

Company managers and supervisors should regularly review all the systems and processes under your control to ensure they comply with this Privacy Standard and check that adequate governance controls and resources are in place to ensure proper use and protection of Personal Data.

(f) Privacy by Design and Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA):

If necessary, RBS will implement Privacy by Design measures when Processing Personal Data by implementing appropriate technical and organizational measures (like Pseudonymization) in an effective manner, to ensure compliance with data privacy principles.

Certain Company Personnel should assess what Privacy by Design measures can be implemented on all programs/systems/processes that Process Personal Data by taking into account:

the state of the art;
the cost of implementation;
iii. the nature, scope, context and purposes of Processing; and

the risks of varying likelihood and severity for rights and freedoms of Data Subjects posed by the Processing.

Data controllers should also conduct DPIAs with respect to high risk Processing. For example, a DPIA should be conducted when implementing major system or business change programs involving the Processing of Personal Data including:

the use of new technologies (programs, systems or processes), or changing technologies (programs, systems or processes);
Automated Processing including profiling and ADM;
iii. large scale Processing of Sensitive Data; and

large scale, systematic monitoring of a publicly accessible area.

A DPIA should include:

a description of the Processing, its purposes and the Data Controller’s legitimate interests if appropriate;
an assessment of the necessity and proportionality of the Processing in relation to its purpose;
iii. an assessment of the risk to individuals; and

the risk mitigation measures in place and demonstration of compliance.

(f) Automated Processing (Including Profiling) And Automated Decision-Making:

Generally, ADM may be unadvisable and potentially prohibited when a decision has a legal or similar significant effect on an individual, unless:

a Data Subject has Explicitly Consented;
the Processing is authorized by law; or
iii. the Processing is necessary for the performance of, or entering into, a contract.

RBS can Process Sensitive Data under certain circumstances, such as where it is necessary (unless less intrusive means can be used) for substantial public interest like fraud prevention. If RBS is going to make a decision based solely on Automated Processing (including profiling), then Data Subjects should be informed. This right must be explicitly brought to their attention and presented clearly and separately from other information. Further, suitable measures must be put in place to safeguard the Data Subject’s rights and freedoms and legitimate interests. RBS may conduct a DPIA before any Automated Processing (including profiling) or ADM activities are undertaken.

(g) Direct Marketing:

RBS is subject to certain rules and privacy laws when marketing to our customers. For example, a Data Subject’s prior consent may be required for electronic direct marketing (for example, by email, text or automated calls). The exception for existing customers known as “soft opt in” allows organizations to send marketing texts or emails if they have obtained contact details in the course of a sale to that person, they are marketing similar products or services, and they gave the person an opportunity to opt out of marketing when first collecting the details and in every subsequent message. These requirements, like many other requirements under the GDPR apply when RBS is having direct interaction with a person and not necessarily when only providing services to a third-party who subsequently directly interacts with individuals.

If applicable, the right to object to direct marketing must be explicitly offered to the Data Subject in an intelligible manner so that it is clearly distinguishable from other information. A Data Subject’s objection to direct marketing must be promptly honored. If a customer opts out at any time, their details should be suppressed as soon as possible. Suppression involves retaining just enough information to ensure that marketing preferences are respected in the future.

13. APPICABILITY OF AND CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY STANDARD

RBS reserves the right to change this Standard at any time for any purpose it deems appropriate or necessary. This Standard does not override any applicable national data privacy laws and regulations in countries where the Company operates. RBS recognizes and acknowledges that the GDPR does not apply to all of its activities or services provided, however, it is RBS’s intention to comply with this Standard when deemed necessary to ensure compliance with the GDPR.