Privacy policy

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy sets out how Horses of Iceland * (“we”) handles and processes the Personal Data of our customers, suppliers, employees, workers and other third parties, regardless of their role as either Data Controller or Data Processor. * Horses of Iceland is administered by Promote Iceland.

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

2. Definitions:

Automated Decision-Making (ADM): when a decision is made which is based solely on Automated Processing (including profiling) which produces legal effects or significantly affects an individual.

Automated Processing: 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 analyse or predict aspects concerning that individual's performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behaviour, location or movements. Profiling is an example of Automated Processing.

Our Personnel: all employees, directors, contractors, consultants and others who work for and/or represent us.

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

Data Controller: the person or organization that determines when, why and how to process Personal Data.

Data Subject: identified or identifiable individual about whom we hold
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): tools and assessments used to identify and reduce risks 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 Processor: a person or organisation which processes Personal Data on behalf of a Data Controller.

Data Protection Legislation: The Data Protection Act applicable in Iceland from time to time, along with rules and regulations derived from the such Data Protection Act.

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

EEA: the 28 countries in the EU, and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

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

Personal Data: any information identifying a Data Subject or information relating to a Data Subject that we can identify (directly or indirectly) from that data alone or in combination with other identifiers we possess or can reasonably access. Personal Data includes Sensitive Personal Data and Pseudonymised Personal Data, but excludes anonymous data or data that has had the identity of an individual permanently removed. 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 behaviour. Personal Data specifically includes, but is not limited to, the name of an individual, personal ID number, address, online identifier, terms of employment, business conduct, one or more factors that characterize an individual in a physical, genetic, mental or social sense and other similar data which are considered Personal Data according to the Data Protection Legislation.

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

Privacy by Design: implementing appropriate technical and organisational measures in an effective manner to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Legislation.

Processing or Process: 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 organising, amending, retrieving, using, disclosing, erasing or destroying it. Processing also includes transmitting or transferring Personal Data to third parties.

Promote Iceland: Íslandsstofa, ID. 6909861599, Sundagardar 2, 104 Reykjavik, Iceland; telephone: + 354 511 4000; email: islandsstofa@islandsstofa.is; website: www.islandsstofa.is.

Pseudonymisation or Pseudonymised: 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.

Sensitive Personal Data: 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.

3. Scope

We recognise that the correct and lawful treatment of Personal Data is an integral part of our operations.

All Our Personnel are responsible for the compliance of this Privacy Policy and we have implemented the appropriate practices, processes, controls and training to ensure such compliance.

4. Personal data protection principles

We adhere to the principles relating to Processing of Personal Data set out in the Data Protection Legislation which require 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 Minimisation).

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

(e) Not kept in a form which permits 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 organisational measures to protect against unauthorised or unlawful Processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage (Security, Integrity and Confidentiality).

(g) Not transferred to another country without 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).

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

5. Lawfulness, fairness, transparency

5.1 Lawfulness and fairness

Personal data must be Processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the Data Subject.

We may only collect, Process and share Personal Data fairly and lawfully and for specified purposes. The Data Protection Legislation restricts our actions regarding Personal Data to specified lawful purposes. These restrictions are not intended to prevent Processing, but ensure that we Process Personal Data fairly and without adversely affecting the Data Subject.

The Data Protection Legislation allows Processing for specific purposes, some of which are set out below:

(a) the Data Subject has given his or her Consent;

(b) the Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with the Data Subject;

(d) to protect the Data Subject’s vital interests; or

(e) to pursue our legitimate interests for purposes where they are not overridden because the Processing prejudices the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of Data Subjects.

We must identify and document the legal ground being relied on for each Processing activity.

5.2 Consent

We, as a Data Controller, must only process Personal Data on the basis of one or more of the lawful bases set out in the Data Protection Legislation, which include Consent.

Data Subjects consent to 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-ticked 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, in an intelligible and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language.

Data Subjects must be easily able to withdraw Consent to Processing at any time and withdrawal must be promptly honoured.

Consent may need to be refreshed if we intend to Process Personal Data for a different and incompatible purpose which was not disclosed when the Data Subject first consented. Unless we can rely on another legal basis of Processing, Explicit Consent is usually required for Processing Sensitive Personal Data, for Automated Decision-Making and for cross border data transfers.

Usually we will be relying on another legal basis (and not require Explicit Consent) to Process most types of Sensitive Data. Where Explicit Consent is required, we will ensure compliance with the Data Protection Legislation’s Explicit Consent requirements.

We will need to evidence Consent captured and keep records of all Consents so that we can demonstrate compliance with Consent requirements.

5.3 Transparency (notifying data subjects)

The Data Protection Legislation 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 will be provided and must be concise, transparent, intelligible, easily accessible, and in clear and plain language so that a Data Subject can easily understand them.

Whenever we collect Personal Data directly from Data Subjects, including for human resources or employment purposes, we must provide the Data Subject with all the information required by the Data Protection Legislation including the identity of the Data Controller and DPO, how and why we will use, Process, disclose, protect and retain that Personal Data, all of which must be presented when the Data Subject first provides the Personal Data.

When Personal Data is collected indirectly (for example, from a third party or publically available source), we must provide the Data Subject with all the information required by the Data Protection Legislation as soon as possible after collecting/receiving the data. We must also check that the Personal Data was collected by the third party in accordance with the Data Protection Legislation and on a basis which contemplates our proposed Processing of that Personal Data.

6. 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.

We cannot use Personal Data for new, different or incompatible purposes from that disclosed when it was first obtained unless we have informed the Data Subjects of the new purposes and the Data Subjects have Consented where necessary.

7. Data minimisation

Personal Data must be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which it is Processed.

We can only Process Personal Data which are necessary. We shall not collect excessive data. We ensure that any Personal Data collected is adequate and relevant for the intended purposes.

We must ensure that when Personal Data is no longer needed for specified purposes, they are deleted or anonymised.

8. Accuracy

Personal Data must be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. It must be corrected or deleted without delay when inaccurate.

We will ensure that the Personal Data we use and hold is accurate, complete, kept up to date and relevant to the purpose for which we collected it.

We must check the accuracy of any Personal Data at the point of collection and at regular intervals afterwards. We must take all reasonable steps to destroy or amend inaccurate or out-of-date Personal Data.

9. 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.

We must not keep Personal Data in a form which permits the identification of the Data Subject for longer than needed for the legitimate business purpose or purposes for which we originally collected it.

We 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 such data is required by law to be kept for a minimum time.

We will take all reasonable steps to destroy or erase from our systems all Personal Data that we no longer require in accordance with applicable laws and all our applicable records retention schedules and policies.

We will ensure Data Subjects are informed of the period for which Personal Data is stored and how that period is determined.

10. Security, integrity and confidentiality

10.1 Protecting Personal Data

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

We have developed, implemented and will maintain safeguards appropriate to our size, scope and business, our available resources, the amount of Personal Data that we own or maintain on behalf of others and identified risks (including use of encryption and Pseudonymisation where applicable). We will regularly evaluate and test the effectiveness of those safeguards to ensure security of our Processing of Personal Data.

We may share Personal Data with third parties service providers who agree to comply with the required policies and procedures and who agree to put adequate measures in place, as requested.

We must maintain data security by protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the Personal Data, defined as follows:

(a) Confidentiality means that only people who have a need to know and are authorised to use the Personal Data can access it.

(b) Integrity means that Personal Data is accurate and suitable for the purpose for which it is processed.

(c) Availability means that authorised users are able to access the Personal Data when they need it for authorised purposes.

10.2 Reporting a Personal Data Breach

The Data Protection Legislation requires Data Controllers to notify any Personal Data Breach to the applicable regulator and, in certain instances, the Data Subject. Data Processors are required to notify Data Controllers of any Personal Data Breach relating to the Data Processor’s Processing.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected Personal Data Breach and will notify Data Subjects, Data Controllers or any applicable regulator where we are legally required to do so.

11. Transfer limitation

The Data Protection Legislation restricts data transfers to countries outside the EEA in order to ensure that the level of data protection afforded to individuals is not undermined. We transfer Personal Data originating in one country across borders when we transmit, send, view or access that data in or to a different country. We may only transfer Personal Data outside the EEA if one of the following conditions applies:

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

(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;

(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 Data Protection Legislation including the performance of a contract between us 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 our legitimate interest; and

(e) the processing resulting from such transfer of personal data otherwise complies with the provisions of the Data Protection Legislation.

12. Data Subject’s rights and requests

Data Subjects have rights when it comes to how we handle 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;

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

(e) ask us 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 our legitimate interests or in the public interest;

(h) request a copy of an agreement under which Personal Data is transferred outside of the EEA;

(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.

We will verify the identity of an individual requesting data under any of the rights listed above.

13. Accountability

13.1 Measures

We have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure compliance with data protection principles.

We must have adequate resources and controls in place to ensure and to document compliance with the Data Protection Legislation including:

(a) appointing a suitably qualified DPO (where necessary) and an executive accountable for data privacy;

(b) implementing Privacy by Design when Processing Personal Data and completing DPIAs where Processing presents a high risk to rights and freedoms of Data Subjects;

(c) integrating data protection into internal documents including this Privacy Policy, related policies, guidelines, terms and notices;

(d) regularly training Our Personnel on the Data Protection Legislation, this Privacy Policy, related policies and privacy guidelines and data protection matters including, for example, Data Subject’s rights, Consent, legal basis, DPIA and Personal Data Breaches. We must maintain a record of training attendance by Our Personnel; and

(e) regularly testing the privacy measures implemented and conducting periodic reviews and audits to assess compliance, including using results of testing to demonstrate compliance improvement effort.

13.2 Record keeping

The Data protection Legislation requires us to keep full and accurate records of all our data Processing activities. We must keep and maintain accurate corporate records reflecting our Processing including records of Data Subjects’ Consents and procedures for obtaining Consents. These records should include, at a minimum, the name and contact details of the Data Controller and the DPO (where necessary), 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.

13.3 Training and audit

We ensure all Our Personnel have undergone adequate training to enable them to comply with data privacy laws. We also regularly test our systems and processes to assess compliance. We regularly review all the systems and processes under our control to ensure they comply with this Privacy Policy and check that adequate governance controls and resources are in place to ensure proper use and protection of Personal Data.

13.4 Privacy by Design and Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA)

We are required to implement Privacy by Design measures when Processing Personal Data by implementing appropriate technical and organisational measures (like Pseudonymisation) in an effective manner, to ensure compliance with data privacy principles.

We have assessed what Privacy by Design measures can be implemented on all programs/systems/processes that Process Personal Data by taking into account the following:

(a) the state of the art;

(b) the cost of implementation;

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

We will conduct a DPIA when implementing major system or business change programs involving the Processing of Personal Data including:

(a) use of new technologies (programs, systems or processes), or changing technologies (programs, systems or processes);

(b) Automated Processing including profiling and ADM;

(d) large scale, systematic monitoring of a publicly accessible area.

A DPIA must include:

(a) a description of the Processing, its purposes and the Data Controller’s legitimate interests if appropriate;

(b) an assessment of the necessity and proportionality of the Processing in relation to its purpose;

(d) the risk mitigation measures in place and demonstration of compliance.

13.5 Automated Processing (including profiling) and Automated Decision-Making

Generally, ADM is prohibited when a decision has a legal or similar significant effect on an individual unless:

(a) a Data Subject has Explicitly Consented;

(b) the Processing is authorised by law; or

If a decision is to be based solely on Automated Processing (including profiling), then Data Subjects must be informed when we first communicate with them of their right to object. 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.

We must also inform the Data Subject of the logic involved in the decision making or profiling, the significance and envisaged consequences and give the Data Subject the right to request human intervention, express their point of view or challenge the decision.

A DPIA must be carried out before any Automated Processing (including profiling) or ADM activities are undertaken.

13.6 Direct marketing

We are subject to certain rules and privacy laws when marketing to our customers.

For example, a Data Subject's prior consent is required for electronic direct marketing (for example, by email, text or automated calls). The limited exception for existing customers known as "soft opt in" allows organisations 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.

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 honoured. 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.

13.7 Sharing Personal Data

Generally, we are not allowed to share Personal Data with third parties unless certain safeguards and contractual arrangements have been put in place.

We may only share the Personal Data we hold with Our Personnel if the recipient has a job-related need to know the information and the transfer complies with any applicable cross-border transfer restrictions.

We may only share the Personal Data we hold with third parties, such as our service providers if:

(a) they have a need to know the information for the purposes of providing the contracted services;

(b) sharing the Personal Data complies with privacy notices provided to the Data Subject and, if required, the Data Subject’s Consent has been obtained;

(c) the third party has agreed to comply with the required data security standards, policies and procedures and put adequate security measures in place;

(d) the transfer complies with any applicable cross border transfer restrictions; and

(e) a fully executed written contract that contains the Data protection Legislation approved third party clauses has been obtained.

14. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time without notice.

If this Privacy Policy is amended, we will release a new version, indicating the release date and setting out a list of changes made.