The controller of your personal data is:
The Association “Bulgarian-Turkish Chamber of Commerce and Industry” (BULTİŞAD), UIC 176606884

• Registered office and address: 25 Lyuben Karavelov St., Entrance A, Apt. 2, Shumen, Bulgaria
• Email: office@bgtrchamber.com
• Phone: +359 54 830 485

At present, taking into account the nature and scope of our activities, we are not required to appoint and have not appointed a Data Protection Officer (DPO). For any questions related to the processing of your personal data, you may contact us using the contact details provided above.

This Policy applies to:

• visitors to the Platform;

• registered users;

• applicants for participation in competitions and open calls;

• participants, finalists, and artists;

• buyers and collectors participating in auctions;

• partners and counterparties.

Depending on your interaction with the Platform, we may process the following categories of personal data:

• Identification data: first name, middle name, last name, pseudonym.

• Contact data: email address, phone number, address.

• Professional and creative data: curriculum vitae (CV), artistic portfolio, information about education and professional experience.

•  Visual data: images of artworks, photographs, and video recordings from events.

• Participation data: information regarding your participation in competitions, exhibitions, or auctions.

•  Technical data: IP address, access logs, and cookie data.

For more information about cookies, please refer to our Cookie Policy.
We do not collect or process special categories of personal data (such as data concerning health, political opinions, etc.), unless this is required by applicable law.

Personal data is processed for the following purposes and on the following legal bases:

• Administration of the Platform and provision of its functionalities. Legal basis: Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) for maintaining and developing the Platform.

• Organization and conduct of competitions, exhibitions, and auctions. Legal basis: Performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) to which you are a party (e.g. participation terms).

• Communication with users, applicants, and partners. Legal basis: Performance of a contract or legitimate interest in ensuring effective communication.

• Conclusion and performance of contracts (e.g. sale of artworks). Legal basis: Performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

• Compliance with legal obligations (e.g. accounting and tax requirements). Legal basis: Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR).

• Statistics and analysis to improve the Platform. Legal basis: Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) in improving our services.

• Ensuring the security of the Platform. Legal basis: Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) in protecting our systems and data.

• Use of functional and analytical cookies. Legal basis: Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).

We retain your personal data for no longer than is necessary to achieve the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by applicable law. We apply the following criteria to determine retention periods:

• Registered user data: for as long as you maintain your account and up to 5 years after its termination, in view of potential legal claims.

• Competition participant data: for the duration of the competition and up to 5 years after its completion.

• Contract-related data: for the periods required under applicable tax and accounting legislation (e.g. 10+1 years).

• Cookie data: in accordance with the retention periods specified in our Cookie Policy.

We may disclose your personal data to the following categories of recipients:

• Partners and auction operators: in connection with the organization and conduct of joint events.

• IT service providers: including hosting providers and software developers, acting as data processors on our behalf.

• Competent public authorities: where required by law or upon official request (e.g. tax authorities, courts, and other competent bodies).

• Buyers: in the context of concluding a contract for the sale of an artwork.

In connection with our partnerships and joint activities with organizations in the Republic of Türkiye, your personal data may be transferred to that country. As Türkiye is located outside the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA), such transfers are carried out subject to appropriate safeguards in accordance with Chapter V of the GDPR, such as the use of standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you have the following rights:

• Right of access: to obtain confirmation as to whether we process your personal data and access to such data.

• Right to rectification: to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.

• Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”): to request deletion of your data under certain conditions.

• Right to restriction of processing: to request restriction of the processing of your personal data.

• Right to data portability: to receive your data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to transfer it to another controller.

• Right to object: to object to processing based on legitimate interests.

• Right to withdraw consent: to withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

• Rights related to automated decision-making: We do not carry out automated decision-making, including profiling, that produces legal effects concerning you.

• You may exercise your rights by contacting us using the details provided in Section 1.

• You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority – the Commission for Personal Data Protection (CPDP), if you believe your rights have been violated: Address: 2 Prof. Tsvetan Lazarov Blvd., Sofia 1592, Bulgaria Website: www.cpdp.bg

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure of, or access to personal data.

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time. Any changes will be published on this page and will take effect from the date of update indicated at the beginning of this document. In case of material changes, we will notify you in an appropriate manner.