Privacy Statement

1. Preamble

This privacy notice is addressed to all visitors and users of our websites and apps (“user” or “you”) of the Merck Group (“Merck”, “us”).

This privacy policy describes how Merck will use the personal data of the users within the scope of the operation of our websites and/or apps (“services”). "Personal Data" in this document means all information that relates to a natural person and with which this person can be directly or indirectly identified.

Should you have questions or queries regarding the processing of your personal data, please contact our Group Data Privacy Officer via privacy@merckgroup.com or the other contact details provided below.

2. General Information

This section informs you who is the controller of the processing of your personal data, how you may contact the controller and which rights you have as a data subject in this context.

2.1. Controller

The data controller means the person who determines the purposes and means of the processing of your personal data. For the processing activities described of in this privacy notice, the controller is

Merck KGaA
Frankfurter Strasse 250
64293 Darmstadt, Germany

Phone: +49 6151 72-0
Telefax: +49 6151 72-2000

2.2.  Data Protection Officer

Merck has appointed a Data Protection Officer. You may reach him/her as follows:

We have appointed a Group Data Privacy Officer. You can contact this person and the team at any time:

Group Data Privacy Officer
Merck KGaA
Frankfurter Strasse 250
64293 Darmstadt, Germany

Phone: +49 6151 72-0
Mail: privacy@merckgroup.com

You are also welcome to exercise your data protection rights by submitting your request directly in our Data Privacy Portal.

3. The Processing Activities in Detail

This section explains the different data processing activities in which Merck processes your personal data for the operation of our services and the provision of information and functionalities.

In general, you are neither contractually nor statutorily obliged to provide your personal data for the below purposes, however your decision to not provide your data may lead to negative consequences, such as reduced features and functionalities and/or, in rare cases, the impossibility to use our information and services offered in this context.

3.1. Operation of our Website

We process your personal data for the purpose of the operation of our services. Whenever you access our services, you automatically transfer personal data to our servers for technical reasons.

This processing activity may include the following data categories:

  • Your IP address;
  • Identifier (manufacturer, version, type of web browser, operating system);
  • Language settings of your web browser;
  • The time of your visit and visited subpages of our website;
  • Your referrer URL (i.e., the URL of the page from which you visit us);
  • The data volume accrued during your visit to our website;
  • Access status (file transferred, file not found, etc.); and
  • Name of the provider of your internet access.

The data processing is based on our legitimate business interests. We process these data for the purpose of presenting our services and to ensure its technical stability and security (e.g., to prevent hacker attacks).

Your data is regularly deleted after a period of seven days, beginning from your use of our service.

No automated decision-making or profiling takes place.

3.2. Cookies

Cookies improve the user experience on our services because they allow, e.g., the system to recognize returning visitors. The term "cookies" in this privacy notice refers to cookies and similar technologies. The term "computer" in this privacy notice refers to computers, smartphones and all other devices with internet access. Cookies are small, usually randomly coded text files that are sent to your computer and stored there. These cookies allow your browser to track certain information that may be retrieved and used by internet servers at a later stage. Merck uses cookies and similar technologies on its services for several reasons, for example:

  • Websites load faster;
  • Websites may be browsed faster;
  • Your settings, such as language and time zone, may be saved;
  • Security on websites is improved since your identity may be verified; and
  • Your log-in to secured websites is facilitated.

There are no cookies used on the Website https://inhouse-consulting.de

4. Your Data Protection Rights

You have or might have the following data protection rights: 

  • Right of access: You have the right to obtain information on the processing of your personal data and to receive a copy these data. 
  • Right to rectification: You have the right to request that we correct or complete your inadequate, incomplete or inaccurate personal data. 
  • Right to erasure: Under certain circumstances, you have the right to request that we delete your personal data.  
  • Right to restriction of processing: Under certain requirements, you may request us to restrict the processing of your personal data. 
  • Right to data portability: You might have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, common and machine-readable format and request that these data are transferred to another data controller, if applicable under the specific circumstances. 
  • Right to object: You might have the right to object to the processing of your personal data by us, in particular if the processing of your personal data is based on (i) the necessity of the performance of a task in the public interest, or (ii) legitimate interests. We will then stop the processing of your personal data unless we remain legally authorized to do so. 
  • Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority: You might have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority against the processing of your personal data if you believe that the processing of your personal data violates data protection regulations. 

4.1. Exercise your data protection rights

You may exercise your data protection rights by submitting a request in our Data Privacy Portal. We take our responsibility for the protection of your rights very seriously. Our privacy experts will examine your request and answer it as soon as possible.  

4.2. Withdrawal of consent

In case you granted us your consent to process your personal data, you may withdraw this consent with effect for the future, depending on the specifications of the respective processing activity. We will then stop the processing of your personal data, unless we have a legal permission to do so. Please note that your withdrawal has effect for future processing operations only and does not make data processing operations, which we executed before such withdrawal, unlawful.

To withdraw your consent, you may send an email to service@merckgroup.com. If you withdraw your consent, you may no longer be able to use the services affected by the withdrawal. Apart from that, you will not suffer any further disadvantages.

If you do not specify your withdrawal to a specific processing operation, we will assume that you withdraw your consent regarding all processing of your personal data that is based on your consent. 

This Data Privacy Statement is up-to-date and dates from October 2024. We reserve the right to amend the data privacy declaration at any time with effect for the future, in particular to adapt it to a further development of the website or the implementation of new technologies.