The Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority [“VARA”] respects your privacy and is committed to protecting it. We provide this Privacy Notice to inform you of our privacy procedures and practices, including what information we collect about you, how we obtain your information and how we use your information.
For the purposes of this Privacy Notice “we”, “our” and “us” refer to VARA, “this website” collectively refers to the vara.ae website, its sub-domains and all other websites owned by VARA, and “you” and “your” refer to a specific individual accessing these websites, a visitor to any of our events, or exhibitors showcasing at our events.
By using this website you consent to our use of your personal data in accordance with this Privacy Notice. You do have the right to revoke your consent as detailed in the ‘Your rights’ section of this Privacy Notice, below.
Personal data collection and use
The data we collect from you may include: - information establishing your identity (for example, name, address, email address, date of birth, passport, Emirates ID, contact details, designation or relevant company information); - financial information (for example, credit card details); - information relating to your use of this website or services (for example, domain name, IP address, cookies or other usage data); - information relating to your attendance at events organised or held by VARA (such as records of attendance, feedback provided and attributable to you, images, audio and video captured, security data such as video recording); and - any information you independently choose to provide to us (for example, if you send us an email or call us)(collectively and hereinafter, the “personal data”).
How do we obtain your personal data
We may collect your personal data during the course of our relationship with you and will only use your personal data in accordance with applicable data protection law.
We may obtain this personal data from a variety of sources, including: - from you (for example, when you access or requestion information from this website, submit information through online forms, create online accounts or profiles, purchase products or services from this website, send emails, attend or exhibit at our events, or otherwise provide us with your personal data); - from suppliers; and - from advertisers or marketing companies.
How we use your personal data
We may use or process your personal data for the following purposes: - to provide you with information about us, news and other updates, any products, goods, services or events and any other information that we think may be valuable to you; - to personalise our services, products or content to you and your geographic region (including but not limited to advertisements and promotions); - to respond to any inquiries, queries, requests that you have made; - to process your payments; - to review, develop and improve this website and any services, products, content or events which we may offer; and - to comply with legal obligations.
On what basis we use your personal data
We use your personal data on the following bases: - because the information is necessary for the performance of a contract with you or to take steps at your request to enter into a contract; - because you have given your consent if we expressly ask for consent to process your personal data for a specific purpose); and - to comply with legal and regulatory obligations.
With whom do we share your personal data?
We will only disclose or transfer your personal data for the purposes set out in this notice to: - our personnel including employees, directors, contractors or any individual otherwise engaged by us - third party service providers and sub-contractors who provide a service to us (including but not limited to advisory services, marketing and advertising, data processing, IT and office services); - any event partners for the purposes of registration and attendance; and - other governmental, regulatory or competent authorities.
Countries to which we transfer your personal data
The information you submit may be transferred, stored and hosted outside of the United Arab Emirates or the country from which you may be accessing this website, and may be transferred to countries which do not have data protection laws or to countries where your privacy and other fundamental rights will not be protected as extensively. These and all other transmissions will remain secure and under our control. We will implement measures to ensure that your personal information remains protected and secure when it is transferred.
Cookies and Other Technologies
Cookies are small pieces of information that your browser stores on your computer when requested by a website.
We may request your browser to store cookies or other technologies when you access one or more pages of this website, submit forms or inquiries, make purchases, request or personalise information, or register yourself for certain services or events.
Most browsers automatically store cookies by default, but you can choose to refuse or selectively accept to store certain cookies and other technologies by adjusting the preferences in your browser settings. However, if you select or if your browser refuses to store cookies, some features of this website may not be available to you and some pages on this website may not display properly.
Personal data retention
We will keep your personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes provided above or to comply with any legal obligations to which we may be subject.
Your rights
Please contact us if you would like to: - Access your personal data – request a copy of your personal data that we process about you; - Rectify your personal data – request us to amend or update your personal data where it is inaccurate or incomplete; - Erase your personal data – request us to delete your personal data where it is no longer necessary for the purpose(s) for which your personal data was originally collected; - Restrict your personal data – request us temporarily or permanently to stop processing all or some of your personal data; - Object to the use of your personal data – at any time, object to us processing your personal data where it is based exclusively on our legitimate interests (see above) or for direct marketing purposes; - Receive or transmit your personal data in a machine-readable and structured format (otherwise known as “data portability”) – request the receipt or transmission of your personal data to another organisation, in a structured and machine-readable format; - Object to any automated decision-making – request us not to subject you to a decision based solely on automated decision making, including profiling, where the decision would have a legal effect on you or produce a similarly significant effect; and - Withdraw your consent – withdraw your consent at any time to the use of your personal data for a particular purpose (where we have asked you for consent to use your information for that particular purpose).
For any of the above, please email us at [email protected].
Subject to any overriding legal obligations, requirements and/or exemptions, we will endeavour to respond to your request within (30) days of receipt, unless we require further information from you. We may ask you to provide proof of your identity.
If you feel that we do not comply with applicable data protection and privacy rules, you may lodge a complaint with a competent data protection authority.
Children
We are committed to protecting the privacy needs of children and we encourage parents and guardians to take an active role in their children’s online activities and interests. We do not knowingly collect information from children and we do not target our websites to children.
Security
We are committed to protecting the information you provide us. We have implemented security policies, rules and technical measures to protect the personal data that we have under our control, in accordance with applicable data protection laws. The security measures are designed to prevent unauthorised access, improper use or disclosure, unauthorised modification and unlawful destruction or accidental loss.
We use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption when collecting or transferring sensitive data such as credit card information. SSL encryption is designed to make the information unreadable by anyone but us. This security measure is working when you see either the symbol of an unbroken key or closed lock (depending on your browser) on the bottom of your browser window. You should be aware that no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed as totally secure. Although we strive to protect such information, we do not guarantee the security of any personal data that you transmit to us over the Internet and you do so at your own risk.
Whistle Blowing
Aligned with our mission, values and commitment to the highest standards of integrity and ethical behavior, we endeavour to present clear guidelines related to protected disclosure or 'whistle blowing'.
Business misconduct including incidents of unacceptable or undesirable conduct by our officers and employees is not tolerated and is harmful to business and society. If you have information concerning malpractice, impropriety or alleged wrongful conduct, please utilise the following email address [email protected] to report your concerns. Depending on the nature of the concerns, the exact timescales for the investigations will be flexible. However, every effort will be made to address the issue at the earliest.
Hyperlinks
Our websites may provide links to third-party websites for your convenience. If you access those links, you will leave our website. We do not control those websites or their privacy practices, which may differ from ours. We do not endorse or make any representations about third-party websites. This Privacy Notice does not cover the personal data you choose to give to unrelated third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy notice of any company before submitting your personal information. Some third-party companies may choose to share their personal data with us; that sharing is governed by that third-party company's privacy notice.
Notification of changes
We may be required to update or change our Privacy Notice from time to time. We will upload an updated Privacy Notice on this website. If there are any significant changes to the Privacy Notice (e.g. if we decide to use your personal data in a manner different from that stated at the time it was collected), we will notify you by way of an email.
Contacting us
This Privacy Notice sets out in broad terms how we handle your personal data and safeguard our privacy. If you have any questions relating to our Privacy Notice, kindly send an email to [email protected].