Privacy Policy
Last updated: 19 August 2026
The Society for Microbial Ecology and Disease (SOMED) respects the privacy of visitors, members, membership applicants and other individuals who communicate with the Society.
This Privacy Policy explains what personal data may be processed through the website somed.nu, why the data is processed, the legal bases for processing, how it may be shared and retained, and the rights available to individuals under applicable data protection law.
1. Data Controller
For personal data processed through this website, the data controller is:
Society for Microbial Ecology and Disease (SOMED)
38 cours Georges Clémenceau
33000 Bordeaux, France
Email: sandrine.claus@l-n-c.fr
Telephone: +33 5 57 83 15 03
SOMED is responsible for determining the purposes and means of processing personal data within the scope of this Privacy Policy.
2. Applicable Data Protection Framework
Personal data is processed in accordance with applicable European Union and French data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”) and the French Data Protection Act (Loi Informatique et Libertés).
Where another mandatory national data protection rule applies to a particular processing activity or individual, SOMED will also comply with that applicable requirement.
3. Personal Data We May Collect
Depending on how you use the website, SOMED may process the following categories of personal data:
- Contact information: name, email address, optional telephone number, selected enquiry subject and message content.
- Membership information: name, email address, telephone number, membership category and academic, scientific, professional or administrative information voluntarily supplied in connection with a membership application.
- Website usage information: pages viewed, interactions with website content, referral information, browser and device information, session information and other technical usage information where permitted by your consent choices.
- Technical and security information: information necessary to operate, protect and troubleshoot the website, including technical logs and security-related events.
- Consent information: your cookie and privacy preferences as communicated through the website’s consent management system.
Further information may subsequently be requested where necessary under SOMED’s Constitution, Bylaws or applicable membership procedures.
Please do not send health data, patient information, confidential clinical records or other special categories of personal data through general website forms unless SOMED has specifically requested such information and an appropriate lawful process has been established.
4. Purposes and Legal Bases for Processing
SOMED processes personal data only where an appropriate legal basis exists.
Contact enquiries: Information submitted through the Contact form is processed in order to respond to enquiries, provide requested information and maintain necessary correspondence. Depending on the nature of the request, processing may be based on SOMED’s legitimate interests in communicating with visitors and administering the Society’s activities, or on steps taken at the request of an individual before entering into a membership or other relationship with SOMED.
Membership administration: Membership application information is processed in order to review applications, communicate with applicants, administer membership and perform activities associated with the membership relationship. The relevant legal bases may include steps taken at the applicant’s request before entering into the membership relationship, performance of that relationship and SOMED’s legitimate interests in administering the Society in accordance with its Constitution and Bylaws.
Website security and operation: Technical and security information may be processed on the basis of SOMED’s legitimate interests in providing a secure, functional and reliable website, preventing abuse and investigating technical or security incidents.
Analytics and non-essential technologies: Where analytics cookies, third-party content or other non-essential technologies require consent, processing is based on the visitor’s consent under Article 6(1)(a) GDPR. Consent may be withdrawn at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
Legal obligations: Personal data may also be processed where necessary to comply with applicable legal, regulatory, accounting or administrative obligations.
5. Contact and Membership Forms
Information entered into website forms is transmitted for the purpose indicated by the relevant form.
Contact-form information is used to respond to and manage the relevant enquiry.
Membership information may be made available to the Secretary, authorised officers, relevant Council members or other authorised persons where this is necessary to consider an application or administer membership.
Submitting a membership application does not itself constitute approval of membership.
6. Cookies and Consent Management
The website uses cookies and similar technologies for strictly necessary website functions and, subject to the visitor’s choices, for statistics and third-party services.
SOMED uses Complianz as its consent management solution to present cookie choices, store consent preferences and control the activation of non-essential services.
Where consent is required, non-essential cookies and third-party services are managed according to the choices made through the consent banner.
You may accept, reject or manage non-essential technologies and may subsequently change or withdraw your choices through the website’s Manage Consent controls.
Further information is available in the Cookie Policy.
7. Google Analytics 4 and Google Site Kit
This website uses Google Analytics 4 (GA4), implemented through the official Google Site Kit WordPress plugin, to help SOMED understand how visitors use the website and to improve its structure, content and performance.
Subject to the visitor’s consent choices, Google Analytics may process information relating to website usage, including pages viewed, interactions with content, referral sources, browser and device characteristics, session information and approximate geographic information.
For users in the European Union, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, Google states that Google Analytics does not log or store individual IP addresses. IP information may be processed transiently for technical and approximate geographic purposes before being discarded.
Google Analytics is configured together with Google Consent Mode. Consent Mode receives consent signals from the website’s consent management system and adjusts the behaviour of Google Analytics tags according to the visitor’s choices.
Where analytics consent is denied, Analytics storage is restricted in accordance with the applicable consent signal. Google states that consent mode may use cookieless technical signals for measurement and modelling even where Analytics cookies are not stored.
The legal basis for non-essential Analytics storage and related processing requiring consent is the visitor’s consent under Article 6(1)(a) GDPR.
You can reject Analytics cookies or withdraw your consent at any time through the website’s cookie preference controls.
8. Google Maps
The Contact page includes Google Maps in order to display the geographical location associated with SOMED.
Google Maps is treated as third-party content and is blocked by the website’s consent management system until the visitor provides the relevant consent.
If you choose to enable Google Maps, technical information such as your IP address, browser or device information and interaction data may be transmitted to Google in accordance with Google’s own privacy practices.
You are not required to enable Google Maps in order to use the remainder of the website, and you may change your consent preferences at any time.
9. Other Third-Party Services and External Content
The website may provide access to or integrate services operated by third parties, including scientific publishers, journals, universities, research institutions, social media platforms and other external resources.
Where a third-party service requires prior consent under applicable law, the service will be managed according to the visitor’s consent choices.
Third-party providers process information in accordance with their own privacy documentation. Where a provider acts as a processor on behalf of SOMED, appropriate contractual arrangements will be used where required.
10. Recipients and Service Providers
Personal data may be accessible only to persons or organisations that reasonably require access for the relevant purpose.
This may include:
- authorised SOMED officers and Council members;
- website administration and technical support providers;
- hosting and infrastructure providers;
- email and communications providers;
- analytics and technology providers where enabled;
- professional advisers or competent authorities where disclosure is legally required.
SOMED does not sell personal data.
Personal data is not disclosed to third parties for their independent advertising purposes without an appropriate legal basis.
11. International Data Transfers
Some technology providers used by the website may process personal data outside the European Economic Area.
Where personal data is transferred to a country outside the European Economic Area and the recipient country does not benefit from an applicable European Commission adequacy decision, SOMED or the relevant provider will rely on an appropriate lawful transfer mechanism where required, such as Standard Contractual Clauses or another safeguard permitted under the GDPR.
12. Data Retention
Personal data is retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and for any additional period required to satisfy applicable legal, accounting, administrative or dispute-resolution requirements.
General correspondence: retained for the period necessary to respond to and conclude the relevant matter and, where appropriate, for a limited period afterwards to maintain an appropriate record of the communication.
Membership applications: retained during the assessment process. Where an application is approved, relevant information may become part of the member’s administrative record and be retained for as long as necessary to administer membership and fulfil applicable legal or organisational requirements.
Where an application is not approved or is withdrawn, information will not be retained longer than reasonably necessary for administration, accountability or the handling of possible queries or disputes.
Analytics data: retained in accordance with the retention configuration applied to the relevant Google Analytics property and applicable consent and legal requirements.
Technical and security logs: retained only for the period reasonably necessary for website security, troubleshooting and system administration.
13. Data Security
SOMED takes reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access.
Access to personal data is restricted according to role and operational necessity.
No internet-based service can guarantee absolute security, and users should avoid transmitting unnecessary confidential or sensitive information through ordinary website forms or email.
14. Your Data Protection Rights
Subject to the conditions and limitations provided by applicable law, you may exercise the following rights:
- the right to access your personal data;
- the right to rectify inaccurate or incomplete personal data;
- the right to request erasure of personal data where the applicable conditions are met;
- the right to request restriction of processing;
- the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests;
- the right to data portability where the statutory conditions apply;
- the right to withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.
Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.
You also have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing that produces legal or similarly significant effects where the relevant GDPR conditions apply.
SOMED does not currently use website-submitted contact or membership information for solely automated decision-making producing such effects.
To exercise your rights, contact:
SOMED may request reasonable information to verify identity before responding to a data-protection request.
15. Complaints to a Supervisory Authority
You have the right to lodge a complaint with a competent data protection supervisory authority if you believe that the processing of your personal data infringes applicable data protection law.
As SOMED is established in France, the French data protection supervisory authority is the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL).
You may also have the right under the GDPR to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority in the EU Member State of your habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement.
16. External Links
The website contains links to third-party websites and resources.
SOMED is not responsible for the privacy practices of independent third parties. Visitors should review the privacy information provided by those services before supplying personal information to them.
17. Changes to This Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy may be updated to reflect changes in SOMED’s activities, website functionality, service providers, consent configuration or applicable law.
The latest version will be published on this page and identified by the Last updated date.
18. Contact
For questions regarding privacy or the processing of personal data, contact:
Society for Microbial Ecology and Disease (SOMED)
38 cours Georges Clémenceau
33000 Bordeaux, France
Email: sandrine.claus@l-n-c.fr
Telephone: +33 5 57 83 15 03
