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EEA and UK Privacy Addendum

Metaculus has updated its policies regarding the recording and use of personal data for individuals residing in the European Economic Area ("EEA") and the United Kingdom ("UK"), in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 ("GDPR").

How Do We Use Your Personal Data

As explained in our privacy policy located at https://www.metaculus.com/privacy-policy/ (the "Policy"), which informs you about the categories of personal data we collect when you visit the https://www.metaculus.com (the "Website"), or otherwise interact at all with Metaculus (collectively with the Website, the "Services"); our practices for collecting, using, retaining, and protecting your personal data; and your rights to ensure proper management of this information.

In the event of a conflict between the terms of this addendum and the rest of the Privacy Policy, this addendum shall take precedence for residents of the EEA or UK. Capitalized terms not defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the GDPR.

For our users located in the EEA and the UK, we must have a valid legal basis in order to process your personal data. Generally speaking, the main legal bases under the GDPR that justify our collection and use of your personal data are:

  • Performance of a contract: When your personal data is necessary to enter into or perform our contract with you.
  • Consent: When you have consented to our use of your personal data via a consent form (online or offline).
  • Legal obligation: When we need to use your personal data to comply with our legal obligations.
  • Legal claims: When your personal data is necessary for us to defend, prosecute or make a claim.
  • Legitimate interests: When we use your personal data to achieve a legitimate interest and our reasons for using it outweigh any prejudice to your data protection rights. For instance, our processing of your personal data in connection with our Services is within our legitimate interests because the nature of the information (while still personal data) is widely available and distributed across the internet and otherwise. These interests include, but are not limited to, providing our Services and Website; facilitating research, service delivery and maintenance; user authentication and account management; managing and improving Metaculus operations; security monitoring and enforcement; providing technical support; engaging the broader community; and promoting Metaculus events and initiatives. If we rely on our (or another person's) legitimate interests for using your personal data, we will undertake a balancing test to ensure that our (or the other person's) legitimate interests are not outweighed by your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms which require protection of the personal data. You can ask us for information on this balancing test by contacting us at legal@metaculus.com.

Below are the general purposes and corresponding legal bases (in italics) for which we may use your personal data:

  • Website Management: Providing, updating and maintaining the Website - In particular, we will use your data to ensure that the Website loads and works for you, to set-up an account, or to provide you with notices regarding predictions or other important information. Depending on the context, performance of a contract, legitimate interests, and in some cases, legal claims.
  • Account Administration: Administering your account and registration as a user. Performance of a contract.
  • Financial Management: Managing financial arrangements, including distribution of prize money. Performance of a contract.
  • User Support: Providing user support services, such as account management and technical support. Performance of a contract.
  • Partnerships: Partner relationship management, such as integration of partners into events and initiatives. Depending on the context, legitimate interests, performance of a contract (for event registration), and consent (for direct marketing communications).
  • Academic Integrity: Providing academic integrity verification, such as instances of alleged cheating in an academic setting. Legitimate interests.
  • Events: Fostering community, such as hosting events and contests. Depending on the context, legitimate interests, performance of a contract (for event registration), and consent (for direct marketing communications).
  • Advertisements: To deliver relevant website content and advertisements to you and measure or understand the effectiveness of the advertising we serve to you. Necessary for our legitimate interests (to study how customers use our products/Services, to develop them, to grow our business and to inform our marketing strategy) or consent (depending on location and relationship).
  • Communication Management: Responding to your queries and requests, including to respond to rights requests and customer support requests - if you reach out to our support team, we may use the information you provide to assist in responding to your inquiry. Using your personal data in this manner is essential for fulfilling our customer service responsibilities. For Website visitors or account holders, we may process your personal data for these purposes when it aligns with our legitimate interests in providing user support. Depending on the context, performance of a contract, legitimate interests, and in some cases, legal claims.
  • Direct Communications: Communicating directly with you - if you contact us or send us any form of communication, we may process your personal data. Depending on the context, performance of a contract, legitimate interests, and in some cases, legal claims.
  • Operations and Internal Processes: Improving the content and general administration of the Website, including to perform system maintenance and upgrades - we may use device, usage, and location information to modify certain features or enhance the Website, as well as use other data derived from personal data to introduce services or events. Legitimate interests.
  • Security Monitoring: Detecting fraud, illegal activities or security breaches - we may use information, such as your IP address, to help prevent abuse of the Website and to investigate potential unauthorized use or other security breaches. Legitimate interests, necessary to comply with a legal obligation.
  • Social Media Management and Promotion: Interacting with individuals on social media via our social media accounts and marketing our Website - this includes data collected through interactions with our social media handles, as well as any advertising or re-targeting activities we may conduct as described in the Privacy Policy. Consent where required (e.g., third-party cookies), legitimate interests, or performance of a contract (for specific marketing agreements).
  • Data Analytics and Performance Insights: Conducting statistical analyses and analytics by monitoring and analyzing trends, usage, and activities in connection with the Website - in particular, we do this internally or via third parties such as Google Analytics and other partners. Consent where required (e.g., third-party cookies) or legitimate interests.
  • Marketing Communications: Sending marketing communications, in line with your communication preferences. Consent (depending on location and user relationship) or legitimate interests.
  • Regulatory Compliance and Legal Obligations: As required by applicable law, legal process or regulation - we may use your personal data to comply with valid court orders and similar legal or regulatory obligations which apply to us. This may include where we reasonably consider it is in our legitimate interests (or the legitimate interests of others) to comply, as well as where we are legally required to do so. Legal obligations or legal claims.

Staying in Control of Your Personal Data: Your Rights

If you are in the EEA or the UK, you have certain rights in relation to your personal data:

  • The Right to Be Informed: our obligation to inform you that we process your personal data;
  • The Right of Access: your right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you (also known as a "data subject access request");
  • The Right to Rectification: your right to request that we correct personal data about you if it is incomplete or inaccurate;
  • The Right to Erasure (also known as the "Right to be Forgotten"): under certain circumstances, you may ask us to delete the personal data we have about you (unless it remains necessary for us to continue processing your personal data for a legitimate business need or to comply with a legal obligation as permitted under the GDPR, in which case we will inform you);
  • The Right to Restrict Processing: your right, under certain circumstances, to ask us to suspend our processing of your personal data;
  • The Right to Data Portability: your right to ask us for a copy of your personal data in a common format (for example, a .csv file);
  • The Right to Object: your right to object to us processing your personal data (for example, if you object to us processing your personal data for direct marketing);
  • Rights in Relation to Automated Decision Making and Profiling: our obligation to be transparent about any profiling we do, or any automated decision making; and
  • The Right to Lodge a Complaint at any Time to the Supervisory Authority for Data Protection Issues in Your Country of Residence: however, we ask that you please contact us first so that we can first address your concerns.

Revocation of Consent

You have the right to revoke your consent for the processing of your personal data at any time. If you wish to revoke your consent, you may do so by clicking here or contacting us. Please note that revoking consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal. Upon receiving your request, we will cease processing your personal data unless we have another legal basis for doing so.

These rights are subject to certain rules around when you can exercise them.

Exercising Your Rights

If you are located in the EEA or the UK and wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, you may contact us. You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights) unless your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request under those circumstances.

Verification

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity. This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. If we cannot reasonably verify your identity, we will not be able to comply with your request(s).

Personal Data Transfers

If we transfer your information to a recipient in a country outside the EEA or UK, we will ensure that at least one of the following shall apply: (i) the transfers will be to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data by the European Commission; (ii) we have used specific model contracts (e.g., the Standard Contractual Clauses) approved by the European Commission which are intended to give personal data the same protection it has in the EEA or UK; or (iii) any alternative transfer mechanism that is legally permissible.

Social Media and Joint Controllership for Individuals in the EEA

Sometimes, we act as a "joint controller" with certain third parties, namely certain social media websites, such as LinkedIn. When we and a partner act as joint controllers, you (as a data subject) may exercise your rights against us and/or the third party.

LinkedIn

With respect to our use of the "Page Insights," we are joint controllers of your personal data with LinkedIn. You may find the joint controller addendum at https://legal.linkedin.com/pages-joint-controller-addendum.

Legal Basis: Metaculus processes personal data in accordance with Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR, relying on legitimate interests as the legal basis for its joint controllership with LinkedIn. This processing is necessary for Metaculus's mission to support forecasting and prediction activities through user engagement, platform integration, and community collaboration. Metaculus balances these legitimate interests against the rights and freedoms of data subjects, ensuring that the processing is proportionate and respects individuals' reasonable expectations. Further legal bases for data processing may also be established in individual cases in accordance with Article 6 (1)(a), (b), (c) of the GDPR.

Facebook

In order to market our Service and stay in touch with users, we maintain a Facebook page and use Facebook Pixel ("Facebook Products"). With respect to our use of these Facebook Products, we are jointly responsible with Facebook Ireland Ltd. for the processing activities ("Joint Processing"):

Facebook Ireland Ltd.
4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbor
Dublin 2, Ireland

Information about the personal data that is collected from you by Facebook, as well as how and why it is processed by Facebook, can be found at https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy. Metaculus and Facebook have entered into an agreement in order to determine the respective responsibilities for compliance with our obligations in connection with the Joint Processing within the meaning of the GDPR. This joint controller agreement, which sets out the reciprocal obligations, is hereby incorporated by reference and is available here.

Please note that Facebook Ireland is responsible for enabling data subjects' rights under Articles 15-20 of the GDPR with regard to the personal data stored by Facebook Ireland in connection with the Joint Processing, as further described in Facebook's privacy policy. To exercise your rights, please go to your Facebook settings or contact Facebook as set forth in its privacy policy.

It cannot be excluded that some processing by Facebook Ireland will also take place in the United States by Facebook Inc.

Legal Basis: Metaculus processes personal data in accordance with Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR, relying on legitimate interests as the legal basis for its joint controllership with Facebook. This processing is necessary for Metaculus's mission to support forecasting and prediction activities through user engagement, platform integration, and community collaboration. Metaculus balances these legitimate interests against the rights and freedoms of data subjects, ensuring that the processing is proportionate and respects individuals' reasonable expectations. Further legal bases for data processing may also be established in individual cases in accordance with Article 6 (1)(a), (b), (c) of the GDPR.

Reddit Pixel

If you agree, we use a conversion tracking and remarketing tool, i.e., the Reddit Pixel of Reddit Ireland Limited, Reddit EU Data Inquiries, 70 Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin 2, Ireland ("Reddit"), to evaluate our advertising measures on Reddit.

The Reddit Pixel collects personal data from you about the use of our Website and uses cookies. With the help of the Reddit Pixel, Reddit can recognize you as part of a target group for the display of advertisements (so-called "Reddit ads") based on your visit to our Website. We use Reddit Pixels to display the Reddit ads placed by us only to those Reddit users who have also shown an interest in our Website or who have certain characteristics (e.g., interest in one of our products). The information collected is transmitted to Reddit. In addition, Reddit and we can use the Reddit Pixel to track the actions of users on Reddit after they have clicked on a Reddit ad. This allows us to record and evaluate the effectiveness of advertisements for statistical and market research purposes in order to optimize future advertising measures.

Reddit is responsible for data processing in connection with the delivery of our ads within the social network. You can find more information about Reddit's data processing here:https://www.redditinc.com/policies/privacy-policy.

Legal Basis: Metaculus processes personal data in accordance with Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR, relying on legitimate interests as the legal basis for its joint controllership with Reddit. This processing is necessary for Metaculus's mission to support forecasting and prediction activities through user engagement, platform integration, and community collaboration. Metaculus balances these legitimate interests against the rights and freedoms of data subjects, ensuring that the processing is proportionate and respects individuals' reasonable expectations. Further legal bases for data processing may also be established in individual cases in accordance with Article 6 (1)(a), (b), (c) of the GDPR.

Google Analytics

This Website uses the functions of Google Analytics, a web analytics service. The provider is Google Ireland Limited ("Google"), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

Google Analytics enables the Website operator to analyze the behavior of Website visitors. The Website operator receives various usage data, such as page views, length of stay, operating systems used and the origin of the user. This data may be summarized by Google in a profile that is assigned to the respective user or their end device. Google Analytics uses technologies that enable the recognition of the user for the purpose of analyzing user behavior (e.g., cookies or device fingerprinting). The information collected by Google about the use of the Website is usually transferred to a Google server in the United States and stored there.

If a corresponding consent has been requested (e.g., consent to the storage of cookies), the processing is conducted exclusively on the basis of Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR; the consent can be revoked at any time.

Acceptance of Privacy Policy

By using our Website, you acknowledge your acceptance of this EEA and UK Privacy Addendum and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to this EEA and UK Privacy Addendum or our Privacy Policy, we ask that you refrain from using our Services. Your continued use of the Services following the posting of changes to these terms will mean that you accept such changes.

Our Contact Information

Should you have other questions or concerns about the EEA and UK Privacy Addendum or our Privacy Policy, please send us an email at legal@metaculus.com.

You can also write to us at:

Attn: Privacy Policy Issues
Metaculus, Inc.
1112 Montana Avenue, Suite 464
Santa Monica, CA 90403 U.S.A.