Page Owner

German Embassy Washington

4645 Reservoir Road, NW

Washington, DC 20007

Contact Form

Information about the page

The Embassy uses the services of Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd., 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland, which owns the Facebook platform, for the information service offered here.

The Embassy wishes to remind you that you use this Facebook page and its functions at your own risk. This applies, in particular, to the use of interactive functions (e.g. commenting, sharing, liking).

Legal basis for data processing

The legal basis for data processing following user interaction with the content of the Facebook page of der Botschaft/ des Generalkonsulats etc. is Article 6 (1) (e) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in conjunction with section 3 of the Federal Data Protection Act and, if the users have given their consent, Article 6 (1) (a) of the GDPR.

Purposes of data processing

The Facebook page of the Embassy is necessary for the purpose of providing information about the Federal Republic of Germany abroad. Your data is processed to this end when you visit this page.

This is data processing in the public interest within the meaning of Article 6 (1) (e) of the GDPR. According to the fourth indent of section 1 (2) of the Foreign Service Act, one of the tasks of the Foreign Service is to provide information about the Federal Republic of Germany abroad. The Foreign Service consists of the Federal Foreign Office (Head Office) and the missions abroad (section 2 of the Foreign Service Act). The missions abroad provide information about the Federal Republic of Germany on their Facebook pages.

Statistical studies have shown that media use and the way in which we deal with information is changing around the world. The number of people who get their information about everyday events from “traditional” information channels such as daily newspapers or TV programmes is declining. Media that operate exclusively or partly on the internet, above all social media platforms, are increasingly being used as sources of information. With its public relations work, the Embassy is seeking to reach as many population groups as possible and to provide them with information under its legal mandate.

The Federal Foreign Office and its missions abroad use Facebook alongside other essential media channels. For more information about these channels, go to https://www.germany.info/us-en/embassy-consulates/embassy-washington.

Processing of personal data by Meta

When you visit this Facebook page, Meta collects data including your IP address and other information saved on your PC in the form of cookies. This information is used to provide the Embassy as the owner of the Facebook page with anonymised statistical information about your use of the Facebook page. Facebook provides more information about this at the following link http://de-de.facebook.com/help/pages/insights.

The data collected about you in this context is processed by Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd. and may be transferred to countries outside the European Union. Meta describes the information it receives and how it is used in its data usage guidelines, in which you will also find information on how to contact Meta and on the settings options for advertisements. The data usage guidelines are available at the following link: www.facebook.com/privacy/center . You can find Meta’s complete Data Use Policy here: https://www.facebook.com/policy.php

When you access a Facebook page, the IP address assigned to your end device is transmitted to Meta. According to Meta, this IP address is anonymised. Meta also stores information about its users’ end devices (e.g. as part of the “login notification” function); this may enable Meta to assign IP addresses to individual users.

If you are currently logged in to Facebook as a user, a cookie with your Facebook ID will be located on your end device. This enables Meta to see that you visited this page and how you used it. This also applies to all other Facebook pages. Facebook buttons integrated into websites enable Meta to record your visits to these websites and assign them to your Facebook profile. Based on this data, content or advertising can be offered that is tailored to you.

To avoid this, you should log out of Facebook and disable the “stay signed in” feature, delete the cookies saved on your device, then close and restart your browser. Facebook information that can be used to identify you directly is thus deleted. This allows you to use our Facebook page without revealing your Facebook ID. When you access interactive features on the site (like, comment, share, messages, etc.), a Facebook login screen will appear. Once you have logged in, Facebook will identify you as a user once again. Information on how to manage or delete existing information about you can be found on the following Facebook support pages: www.facebook.com/privacy/center

Meta states that it stores data until it is no longer needed to provide its services and products or until the user’s account has been deleted, whichever happens first. This depends on the circumstances of the individual case, in particular the type of data, why it is collected and processed, and the relevant legal or operational storage needs. For more information about data storage, go to: www.facebook.com/privacy/center

Facebook Page Insights

Meta processes a range of page visitors’ personal data in its Page Insights for its own purposes. Processing takes place regardless of whether visitors are logged into the Facebook platform or not and whether they are members of the Facebook network. Users who access Facebook pages without being registered or logged in to Facebook also have the option of influencing the scope of data processing with a cookie banner inserted by Facebook. For more information about Facebook cookies, go to: https://de-de.facebook.com/policies/cookies/

Page Insights are aggregate statistics that are created on the basis of specific “events” logged by Meta servers when people interact with pages and their associated content. Page owners themselves do not have access to the personal data processed as part of “events”, but only the aggregated, anonymised Page Insights. For more information, go to: https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/page_controller_Addendum

Rights of the data subject

If users’ personal data is processed, they have the right of access, rectification, objection, portability and deletion of this data in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd has undertaken, in accordance with the Page Insights Controller Addendum, to respond to requests from data subjects in accordance with Meta’s obligations under the Page Insights Controller Addendum (available at https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/page_controller_addendum).

Requests from users regarding data processing when visiting a Facebook page will be forwarded by us to Meta in accordance with the Page Insights Controller Addendum. Users can find out more about their rights as data subjects at the following link: https://de-de.facebook.com/about/privacy

Alternative unconditional access to information

Alternatively, you can access information on the topics presented on the Facebook page at https://www.germany.info/us-en/embassy-consulates/embassy-washington and at www.diplo.de.

Further processing of personal data

The Embassy as the provider of the information service will not collect or process any further data from your use of our service.

Data protection information

You can find this data protection declaration in its current version under “Data Protection” on our Facebook page.

If you have any questions about our information service, you can contact the Embassy via our contact form.

Information about Facebook and about other social networks and how you can protect your data can also be found on the webpages of the Federal Office for Information Security: https://bsi.bund.de/dok/sicherheitsoptionen