site.btaPrivacy policy

GENERAL

The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) is an independent national news organisation of the Republic of Bulgaria which has been established and implements the activities specified in the Bulgarian News Agency Act.

BTA gathers, processes, stores and distributes Bulgarian-language information from around the world and Bulgaria and English-language information from Bulgaria and the rest of the world.

BTA presents the entire range of developments and opinions in Bulgaria and abroad fairly, impartially, objectively, fully, accurately, truthfully, timely and ethically, which ranks the country among the democracies in the world.

Acting in the best interests of the public and of the State and conforming to the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian News Agency Act, BTA exercises discretion in determining the content of its news-gathering and news-distributing operation and assumes responsibility for this operation.

In the performance of the functions and activities entrusted to it by law, BTA processes personal data of natural persons in its capacity as data controller, meeting the requirements and complying with the principles and provisions of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation, hereinafter referred to as “the Regulation”), the Personal Data Protection Act, as well as other statutory instruments relevant to the protection of the personal data of natural persons.

 

INFORMATION ABOUT THE DATA CONTROLLER

BTA is the independent national news organisation of the Republic of Bulgaria whose status of a public-financed legal person accountable in the implementation of its operation to the National Assembly is regulated in the Bulgarian News Agency Act. The address of BTA’s registered office is 49 Tsarigradsko Chaussee Blvd., City of Sofia, and its Uniform Identification Code (EIK) is 000695071.

In its capacity as controller within the meaning of Article 4(7) of the Regulation, BTA applies the appropriate technical and organisational measures in order to ensure the lawful processing of the personal data of natural persons, complying with the principles and requirements of the regulatory framework regarding the processing and protection of the personal data of data subjects.

 

DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this Policy:

• “personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (“data subject”); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person;
• “processing” means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction;
• “filing system” means any structured set of personal data which are accessible according to specific criteria, whether centralised, decentralised or dispersed on a functional or geographical basis;
• “controller” means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by European Union (EU) law or Member State law, the controller or the specific criteria for its nomination may be provided for by EU law or Member State law;
• “processor” means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller;
• “recipient” means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or another body, to which the personal data are disclosed, whether a third party or not. However, public authorities which may receive personal data in the framework of a particular inquiry in accordance with EU law or Member State law are not regarded as recipients; the processing of those data by those public authorities is in compliance with the applicable data protection rules according to the purposes of the processing;
• “third party” means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or body other than the data subject, controller, processor and persons who, under the direct authority of the controller or processor, are authorised to process personal data;
• “consent” of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her;
• “personal data breach” means a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed.

 

I. SUBJECT MATTER AND PURPOSE

1. The purpose of this Policy is to provide, in a clear and accessible way, information about the personal data processing activities, as well as information about the basic parameters of personal data processing, including:

• the identity and the contact details of the controller and, where applicable, of the controller’s representative;
• the contact details of the data protection officer, where applicable;
• the purposes of the processing for which the personal data are intended as well as the legal basis for the processing;
• in cases where the processing is based on point (f) of Article 6(1) of the Regulation, the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party;
• the recipients or categories of recipients of the personal data, if any;
• where applicable, the fact that the controller intends to transfer personal data to a third country or international organisation;
• the period for which the personal data will be stored, or if that is not possible, the criteria used to determine that period;
• the existence of the right to request from the controller access to and rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing concerning the data subject or to object to processing as well as the right to data portability;
• where the processing is based on consent, the existence of the right to withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal;
• the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority;
• whether the provision of personal data is a statutory or contractual requirement, or a requirement necessary to enter into a contract, as well as whether the data subject is obliged to provide the personal data and of the possible consequences of failure to provide such data;
• the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, respectively meaningful information about the logic involved, as well as the significance and the envisaged consequences in case the data controller carries out such processing.

2. This Policy applies with regard to all personal data processing activities and operations which the controller carries out, as well as with regard to all services offered by BTA, regardless of the legal basis for the processing.

3. BTA represents by this Policy that, in carrying out natural persons’ personal data processing activities, BTA applies the relevant technical and organisational measures ensuring an appropriate level of data protection while respecting the following principles:

• personal data are processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject (“lawfulness, fairness and transparency”);
• personal data are collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes; further processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes is not considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes (“purpose limitation”);
• personal data are adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed (“data minimisation”);
• personal data are accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that personal data that are inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased or rectified without delay (“accuracy”);
• personal data are kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed; personal data may be stored for longer periods insofar as the personal data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes, subject to implementation of the appropriate technical and organisational measures required by the Regulation in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the data subject (“storage limitation”);
• personal data are processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures (“integrity and confidentiality”).

4. BTA collects and processes personal data of natural persons in connection with:

• registration on the website when using a service/functionality of the website and the completion of a form/application for the provision of a news product or another activity on the website, including when reporting a problem with the website;
• submission of an application/request for the provision of a service/news product on-site in the BTA building or by e-mail;
• recording and processing of complaints, alerts and proposals with which natural persons approach BTA;
• processing of requests under the Access to Public Information Act (APIA);
• employment relationships and civil-law relationships to which BTA is party;
• contractual relations with partners and counterparties, to the extent that the drafting, entering into and performance of contracts requires the processing of personal data of natural persons;
• physical-protection arrangements in the building of the controller, as well as in order to ensure access control, internal order and security;
• the operation of the devices, the website and the applications through which BTA provides services.

 

II. CATEGORIES OF PERSONAL DATA PROCESSED BY THE CONTROLLER

1. In its capacity as data controller, BTA collects and processes the following categories of personal data:

• in connection with registered users and the provision of services on the BTA website: physical identity: names, contact telephone and e-mail address of the natural-person registered users, so as to be able to identify the applicants, as well as to be able to authenticate natural persons enjoying registered access to the BTA database and/or using the information services offered by BTA;
• in connection with applying for services/access to news products on-site in the BTA building or by e-mail: physical identity: names, contact telephone and e-mail address of the natural-person complainants, respectively, the natural-person whistleblowers and proposal submitters;
• in connection with the recording and processing of complaints, alerts and proposals with which natural persons approach BTA: names, signature, contact address, telephone number and e-mail address of natural-person complainants, respectively, the natural-person whistleblowers and proposal submitters;
• in connection with the processing of requests under the APIA: BTA processes information about particular data subjects which may contain physical, economic, social or other identity data on particular persons. BTA provides such information solely and to the extent it is consistent with the purposes of the APIA;
• in connection with the formation, performance and termination of employment relationships and civil-law relationships to which BTA is party: physical identity: names, Personal Identification Number (EGN)/Foreigner’s Personal Number (LNC), date and place of birth, identity document particulars, signature, contact address, telephone number and e-mail address of the job applicants, respectively, the entrants in competition procedures or selection procedures, BTA employees and natural persons who are parties to civil-law relationships; educational attainment and professional qualification data: documentary proof of award of an educational degree, qualification or licensed competence; occupational and/or professional experience/identity data: curriculum vitae, documents certifying employment service; health status and state-of-health data: medical examinations reports, doctor’s findings, sick leave notes, decisions of Territorial Medical Expert Boards and the National Medical Expert Board; data concerning convictions and violations: conviction status certificate; data relating to the performance of the employment relationship: records of performance appraisal, disciplinary sanctions imposed, awards, etc; economic standing: bank account, data regarding preventive attachments imposed, etc.;
• in connection with contractual relations with partners and counterparties, to the extent that the drafting, entering into and performance of contracts requires the processing of personal data of natural persons: physical identity: names, EGN/LNC, date and place of birth, identity document particulars, signature, address, contact telephone and e-mail address; economic standing data: bank account;
• in connection with physical-protection arrangements in the building of the controller, as well as in order to ensure internal order and security: physical identity: names, EGN/LNC, identity document particulars for the persons who visit the BTA building; video surveillance data: video recordings from technical means for monitoring the BTA building;
• in connection with the operation of the devices, the website and the applications through which BTA provides services: Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, Media Access Control (MAC) addresses, name of device, history of visited sites, “cookies” (detailed information regarding the cookies is available in the relevant section).

 

III. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA

1. In order to comply with the requirement for lawfulness of the processing, BTA processes personal data of natural persons on the following legal basis:

• for the registration and provision of services on the BTA website: the processing is necessary for the provision of the service concerned. BTA uses the information provided only for the needs of the registration and for the provision of the service as requested and does not share this information with third parties. The processing is necessary for the performance of a pre-formulated standard contract to which the data subject is party or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract/accepting the general conditions;
• for the provision of services applied for on-site in the BTA building: the processing is necessary for the provision of the service concerned. BTA uses the information provided only for the provision of the service as requested and does not share this information with third parties. The processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract;
• for the recording and processing of complaints, alerts and proposals with which natural persons approach BTA: personal data are processed in compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject in connection with the need to identify the complainants and establish contact with the natural-person complainants, whistleblowers and proposal submitters;
• in connection with employment relationships, civil-service relationships and civil-law relationships to which BTA is party: personal data are processed in compliance with a legal obligation applicable to the controller in connection with the formation, performance and termination of employment relationships and civil-law relationships, in view of the provisions of the Labour Law and the applicable regulatory framework of secondary legislation regarding employment relationships, the Social Insurance Code, the Health Insurance Act, the Corporate Income Tax Act, the Income Taxes on Natural Persons Act, etc.;
• for the performance of contractual relations with partners and counterparties, to the extent that the drafting, entering into and performance of contracts requires the processing of personal data of natural persons: the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract and the processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject: the Obligations and Contracts Act, the Public Procurement Act, etc.;
• for physical-protection arrangements in the building of the controller, as well as in order to ensure access control, internal order and security: the processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests of the controller;
• regarding the operation of the devices, the website and the applications through which BTA provides services: the processing is necessary in order to certify user’s profiles, to authenticate users, for network and information security, in order to improve the quality of the electronic services provided by BTA, etc.

2. In cases where the processing of personal data is based on the consent of the data subjects, such consent is a freely given, specific and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes for a specified purpose.

3. The data subject has the right to withdraw his or her consent at any time, and the withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal. Depending on the manner of provision of the service, consent may be given either when the natural person visits the building of the controller in order to apply for the use of the service concerned or by electronic means.

4. BTA does not process any personal data provided by a data subject without legal basis under Article 6 of the Regulation or contrary to the principles under Article 5 of the Regulation. Within one month of becoming aware that such processing has taken place, the controller will return the personal data concerned, and if this proves impossible or involves disproportionate effort, the controller will erase or destroy such data.

5. BTA does not process personal data of children except in cases where such processing complies with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject.

6. In its capacity as employer, BTA determines a storage period for personal data of entrants in recruitment and selection procedures which may not exceed six months, unless the applicant has given his or her consent to a longer storage period. Upon the expiry of that period, the controller will erase or destroy the stored documents containing personal data unless a special law provides for otherwise.

 

IV. MANNER OF PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA, PROVISION OF PERSONAL DATA TO THIRD PARTIES, STORAGE PERIODS FOR PERSONAL DATA

1. Within BTA, only a limited number of employees have access to personal data on a need-to-know basis. These employees are under an obligation of confidentiality of the personal data. Appropriate technical and organisational measures for the protection of personal data have been taken, too.

2. With a view to performing its functions and tasks, providing services on-site and by electronic means, managing human resources, entering into and performing contracts and ensuring physical-protection and security arrangements, BTA collects and processes personal data as follows:

• in paper form in connection with the submission of an application for the provision of services;
• in paper form by the completion of the documents required by law in connection with the formation, performance and termination of an employment relationship, civil-service relationship or civil-law relationship to which BTA is party;
• in paper form in connection with entering into and the performance of contracts with partners and counterparties;
• by entering data in order for the purpose of identifying/authenticating the users of electronic services provided by BTA, where such users use services by registered access to the databases of the electronic registers kept by BTA;
• by the completion of an electronic application for the provision of services;
• by entering data into video recordings from technical means for monitoring and security;
• by processing data on an IP address, a MAC address and “cookies”.

3. By this Policy, BTA, in its capacity as data controller, represents that it does not provide the personal data of natural persons without their explicit consent to any third persons/parties unless this is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject or in case there is a legal basis for the provision of such data.

4. BTA may provide information constituting personal data to the law-administration and law-enforcement authorities and institutions, responding to lawful requests.

5. In order to comply with lawful requirements, obligations assumed under existing contractual and/or pre-contractual relations with natural persons, BTA may provide personal data to the following categories of persons:

• other data controllers, such as companies providing postal and courier services, banks, etc.;
• processors who process personal data on behalf of the controller, in compliance with the requirements of the Regulation only on written authorisation by the data controller, such as an occupational medicine service regarding personal data of employees, persons under a civil-law relationship, cloud service providers, persons maintaining the BTA website, etc.;
• transfers of personal data of natural persons to natural and legal persons established in third countries and international organisations take place in compliance with the requirements provided for in the Regulation, and namely: where the European Commission has decided that the country or international organisation concerned offers an adequate level of protection; if there is an alternative legal mechanism ensuring compliance with the requirements of the Regulation; on other grounds (derogations) provided for in the Regulation.

7. The storage periods for personal data vary with the purposes for which the personal data are processed under this Policy:

• personal data, which are collected and processed by BTA for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject or in the exercise of official authority, are stored for the period determined in the relevant law or vis-à-vis the limitation period as provided for;
• personal data, which are processed for compliance with contractual obligations, are stored for the periods provided for in the contracts concerned and with a view to complying with the legal requirements for the exercise of rights and the initiation of actions, as well as in order to comply with time limits provided for in special laws like the Public Procurement Act;
• in cases where the data are processed on the basis of consent of the data subject, such data are stored for a period relevant to the purposes for which they have been collected and processed, respectively, in connection with the particular service which is provided to the natural person. After the expiry of those periods and in case there is no legal basis for the continued storage of the personal data related to information subject to archiving, the information (the records in electronic and paper form) is destroyed.

 

V. RIGHTS OF NATURAL-PERSON DATA SUBJECTS

1. Each natural person, who is a data subject, has the right:

• to obtain from the controller confirmation as to whether or not personal data concerning him or her are being processed, and, where that is the case, access to the personal data and information regarding: the purposes of the processing; the categories of personal data concerned; the recipients or categories of recipient to whom the personal data have been or will be disclosed, in particular recipients in third countries or international organisations; where possible, the envisaged period for which the personal data will be stored, or, if not possible, the criteria used to determine that period; the existence of the right to request from the controller rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing of personal data concerning the data subject or to object to such processing; the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority; where the personal data are not collected from the data subject, any available information as to their source, as well as information regarding the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, as well as meaningful information about the logic involved, as well as the significance and the envisaged consequences of such processing for the data subject;
• to obtain from the controller without undue delay the rectification of inaccurate personal data concerning him or her. Taking into account the purposes of the processing, the data subject has the right to have incomplete personal data completed;
• to obtain from the controller the erasure of personal data concerning him or her where one of the following grounds applies:

(a) the personal data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed;

(b) the data subject withdraws consent on which the processing is based according to point (a) of Article 6(1), or point (a) of Article 9(2) of the Regulation, and where there is no other legal ground for the processing;

(c) the data subject objects to the processing pursuant to Article 21(1) of the Regulation and there are no overriding legitimate grounds for the processing, or the data subject objects to the processing pursuant to Article 21(2) of the Regulation;

(d) the personal data have been unlawfully processed;

(e) the personal data have to be erased for compliance with a legal obligation in EU law or Member State law to which the controller is subject;

(f) the personal data have been collected in relation to the offer of information society services referred to in Article 8(1) of the Regulation.

In cases where personal data are processed for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject, for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller, the data subject may not rely on the right to erasure of personal data concerning him or her;

• to obtain from the controller restriction of processing where the accuracy of the personal data is contested by the data subject, for a period enabling the controller to verify the accuracy of the personal data; where the processing is unlawful and the data subject opposes the erasure of the personal data and requests the restriction of their use instead; where the controller no longer needs the personal data for the purposes of the processing, but they are required by the data subject for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; as well as in cases where the data subject has objected to processing pending the verification whether the legitimate grounds of the controller override those of the data subject;
• to receive the personal data concerning him or her, which he or she has provided to a controller, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and to transmit those data to another controller without hindrance from the controller to which the personal data have been provided;
• to object, on grounds relating to his or her particular situation, at any time to processing of personal data concerning him or her which is based on point (e) or (f) of Article 6(1) of the Regulation, including profiling based on those provisions. The controller should no longer process the personal data unless the controller demonstrates compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override the interests, rights and freedoms of the data subject or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims;
• not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning him or her or similarly significantly affects him or her.

2. In cases where a natural person’s right of access to personal data concerning him or her may lead to the disclosure of personal data of third parties, BTA grants the natural person concerned access limited to that part of the information which concerns him or her.

3. BTA may refuse, in full or in part, the exercise of the rights of data subjects and may not comply with its obligation to inform, pursuant to Article 34 of the Regulation where the exercise of the rights or non-compliance with the obligation would result in a risk to:

– national security;

– defence;

– public order and security;

– the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, including the safeguarding against and the prevention of threats to public order and security;

– other important objectives of general public interest, in particular an important economic or financial interest, including monetary, budgetary and taxation matters, public health and social security;

– the protection of judicial independence and judicial proceedings;

– the prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of breaches of ethics for regulated professions;

– the protection of the data subject or the rights and freedoms of others;

– the enforcement of civil law claims.

4. BTA provides the information in connection with requests for the exercise of any of the rights under this Policy free of charge.

5. Where requests from data subjects are manifestly unfounded or excessive, the controller may charge a reasonable administrative fee for the provision of the information requested or, respectively, for the exercise of a right.

6. BTA provides information on action taken on a request for the exercise of rights to data subjects within one month of receipt of the request.

7. That period may be extended by two further months where necessary, taking into account the complexity and number of requests.

8. The controller will inform the data subject of any such extension within one month of receipt of the request, together with the reasons for the delay.

9. Where the data subject makes the request by electronic means, the information will be provided by electronic means where possible, unless otherwise requested by the data subject.

10. Data subjects exercise their rights under this Policy by means of a written application addressed to the data controller.

11. An application may alternatively be submitted by electronic means under the terms of the Electronic Document and Electronic Trust Services Act, the Electronic Government Act, and the Electronic Identification Act.

12. An application requesting the exercise of a right must contain:

– name, address, EGN and LNC or another similar identifier, or other particulars identifying the natural person determined by the controller in connection with the activity carried out by that controller;

– description of the request;

– preferred form in which the information upon the exercise of the rights under this Policy is to be provided;

– signature, date of submission of the application, and address for correspondence;

– where an application is submitted by an authorised person, the power of attorney must be attached to the application.

13. The above-mentioned rights are exercised by the submission of a written application to BTA at the following address: 49 Tsarigradsko Chaussee Blvd., City of Sofia, or at the following e-mail address: dpo@bta.bg (contact details of the data protection officer), subject to the terms of the Electronic Document and Electronic Trust Services Act, the Electronic Government Act, and the Electronic Identification Act.

14. In the event of infringement, natural persons furthermore have the right to address queries and lodge complaints to the supervisory authority: Commission for Personal Data Protection (CPSP). Contact details of CPDP: 2 Prof. Tsvetan Lazarov Blvd., 1592 Sofia, e-mail address: kzld@cpdp.bg, Internet site: www.cpdp.bg

 

VI. NOTIFICATION OF MODIFICATIONS IN THIS POLICY

1. BTA reserves the right to amend and supplement this Policy.

2. Where any modifications in the Policy are made, they will be promptly incorporated into it, and any such modifications will be made available to data subjects on the BTA website.