At Bisnow, we believe in security, transparency and helping to advance the world of commercial real estate. This page is here to provide our readers, subscribers, attendees and sponsors a broad overview — in easy to understand language — about our approach to the General Data Protection Regulation.
Our legal terms of use, including our formal GDPR policies, can be found here.
What is GDPR?
GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation. It’s a massive new regulation impacting data protection and privacy for all people in the European Union. GDPR goes into effect 25 May 2018.
Who is impacted?
Every company that does business with anyone in the European Union is required to be compliant. Sure, Bisnow has employees in the U.K. and hosts events in the U.K. and E.U., but even if we didn’t, we’d still have to be GDPR-compliant. Simply having one website visitor from the E.U. means we need to be.
What has Bisnow done about GDPR?
We take this regulation seriously. In preparation for the incoming regulation, we have:
- Appointed a Data Protection Officer. You can email them at GDPR@Bisnow.com with questions.
- Engaged third-party consultants and lawyers to audit our GDPR preparations and data security and make recommendations to increase our data security, protocols and transparency.
- Conducted a company-wide Data Protection Impact Assessment and have committed to conducting a DPIA every time we add new technology to our employees’ workflow.
- Confirmed that (as of 1 May 2018) all 32 technology partners, from the servers that run our website to the chat tool we use in the office, are GDPR-compliant. We’ve added language to our contracts to make sure any future partners are, as well.
- Trained our employees to understand security risks, how personal information can be transferred, and what to do if a breach is suspected.
Why is Bisnow emailing me? Isn’t that illegal?
One common misconception is that GDPR forbids companies from emailing individuals. That’s not entirely the case. There are “lawful basis” rationales for why businesses like Bisnow can email individuals. One exception is the “legitimate interest” basis. Because Bisnow contacts professionals in real estate-related industries and provides news, events and networking opportunities that advance people in those professions, our communications fall within the legitimate interest category. All of the individuals we email are those who, to the best of our knowledge, work in industries related to real estate. You can read our full lawful basis statement in our Terms Of Use.
What if I don’t want Bisnow’s emails?
We have always — and will continue to always — made it easy for readers to unsubscribe. In light of GDPR, we’ve made it even more simple and clear. Every bulk email Bisnow sends will include unsubscribe options in the footer. Emails from individual employees at Bisnow will always include a link to our privacy policy.
How do I delete my information completely?
GDPR mandates that Bisnow make it easy for users to be “forgotten.” Beyond just unsubscribing, individuals can request to be forgotten by visiting the Settings page of their account (if logged in) or making a request via email to GDPR@Bisnow.com.
What if I have more questions?
We are here to help. You can always email Bisnow’s Data Protection Officer at GDPR@Bisnow.com.
