Privacy Statement

Who we are

The International Association of Scientific Technical and Medical Publishers (hereinafter: ‘STM’ or ‘we’) is the global trade association that represents the world’s leading scholarly publishers, as well as organisations that provide services and support within the scholarly publishing ecosystem.

The purpose of this privacy statement

As part of the services we offer, also through our website (https://stm-assoc.org/), we process personal data. We recognize and respect the privacy and personal data of all individuals whose data we process, including visitors to our website. The purpose of this privacy statement is to explain what personal information we collect, how we use it, and how we ensure its protection.

Our privacy statement at a glance

Your privacy is of great importance to us. We comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This means that we:

  • Record our purposes before we process your personal data, as set out in this privacy statement.
  • Limit our collection of personal data to only the personal data needed for our purposes.
  • Ask for explicit consent for the processing of your personal data, should consent be required.
  • Take the necessary security measures to protect your personal data. We also impose these obligations on parties who process personal data on our behalf.
  • Respect your rights, such as the right of access, rectification or erasure of your personal data processed by us.

For what purposes do we collect personal data about you

We obtain various personal data from you. We specify for each purpose what data we obtain from you, for what purpose we process this data and for how long it is stored. If you have any questions or would like to know exactly what information we store about you, please contact us. Our contact details are mentioned at the bottom of this privacy statement.

Contact and complaint handling

When you send us an email, contact us by telephone, or contact us in any other way, you agree to our terms and conditions of contact (performance of the contract).

For this purpose, we process the following personal data:

  • Name
  • Business information (if you contact us from a business perspective)
  • Contact details (email address and telephone number)
  • Any information you provide as part of the content of a message

We store these contact details with the personal data you provide for the purpose of carrying out the contact and handling your complaint if necessary. We keep this information for as long as necessary for this contact or up to 2 years after we last had contact with you, because we want to make sure we have handled your question or complaint properly.

Becoming a member

Together with our members, we work to advance trusted research worldwide, using a whole-organization approach so that all employees of our members can benefit from STM’s many offerings. To stay in touch with our members and to communicate about STM meetings, projects and other activities, we need some information from our member and of its officer’s representative. We use this data because of the legitimate interest we have in fulfilling the agreement – to a membership – we enter into with your organization and in maintaining the resulting relationships.

For this purpose, we process the following personal data:

  • Name representative
  • Function
  • Organization
  • Revenue information
  • Contact details (email address and telephone number)
  • Business address

We store this information until you no longer are a member of us. Payment details may be stored up to 7 years due to tax retention requirements.

 Account 

Members of STM receive access credentials for the members-only section of this website, consisting of a login and password, to retain for the benefit of their officers and employees (performance of the contract).

For this purpose, we process the following personal data:

  • Login details
  • Company name

We store this data until you are no longer a member of STM. Your access credentials will be deleted after you inform us that the company no longer wishes to be a member.

Newsletter

On our website you can subscribe to our bimonthly digital newsletter. We only send out the newsletter with your consent. The newsletter contains information on STM events, news and opportunities, global policy news and policy updates of STM.

For this purpose, we process the following personal data:

  • Name
  • Email address
  • Organization

Your personal data is stored until you unsubscribe from our newsletter. If you no longer wish to receive the newsletter, you can unsubscribe at any time. There is an unsubscribe link in every newsletter.

Surveys 

You may be invited to participate in surveys on topics relevant to scholarly publishing and the wider research ecosystem. This enables us to provide you with relevant content across various areas. We process your personal data for these surveys based on our legitimate interest in advancing trusted research and improving STM’s activities and offerings. Our interest takes precedence over your privacy interest, given that you decide for yourself whether you want to complete a survey, and what information you provide.

For this purpose, we process the following personal data:

  • Name
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • IP address
  • Gender identity, ethnicity and disability (for diversity and inclusion monitoring)
  • Content of the survey/review

We store your personal data for a maximum of 2 years after you have completed the survey, after which we anonymize the results.

Registration for events, webinars and trainings

STM events are designed to convene members and stakeholders from across the scholarly communications ecosystem to foster innovation, openness and knowledge sharing within the research community. In order to process your participation in a STM event, we need some personal data from you (performance of the contract).

For this purpose, we process the following personal data:

  • Pronoun (optional)
  • Name
  • Email address
  • Function
  • Organization
  • Country
  • Payment details
  • Dietary requirements
  • Accessibilty requirements
  • Information relevant to your membership

We store this information until 6 months after the event, webinar or training took place. Payment details may be stored up to 7 years due to tax retention requirements.

 Becoming a mentor or mentee

STM provides a unique development opportunity for individuals by facilitating a mentor programme. In order to process your application as a mentor or mentee and to conclude a mentorship agreement, we need some personal data.

For this purpose, we process the following personal data:

  • Name
  • Contact details (email address and telephone number)
  • Membership information (function, organization)
  • Country
  • Gender (optional)
  • Ethnicity (optional)
  • Any other information you provide with your application

Your application details are stored until the position has been filled. Personal data of mentees and mentors are stored until the programme ends. In the case of mentors, we may store your name and contact details up until 2 years after you last participated in the programme, in order to contact you for future mentoring announcements (such as applying for the programme in the future).

Visual material

Visual material is displayed on our website and social media. This visual material may be produced by us or by our various members. We process this data based on your consent that you have given to us.

For this purpose, we process the following personal data:

  • Name
  • Contact details (email address and telephone number)
  • Visual material/images
  • Any information you disclose about yourself in visual material, bio’s, (videos) or on our website

We store this information until you withdraw your consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us.

Handling job applications

If you apply for one of our job openings or submit an open application, we process your personal data for the purpose of handling your application and in preparation for a possible employment contract.

For this purpose, we process the following personal data:

  • Name and address details
  • Contact details (email address and telephone number)
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Motivation letter
  • Salary requirements
  • References
  • Any other information you provide with your application

Your application details are stored for a maximum of 6 weeks after the position has been filled. We store this information so that we can contact you should the position become vacant again within the probationary period. If we are unable to offer you a position at this time, we may – with your consent – keep the application data for one more year. You can revoke your consent at any time by sending us an email. We will store your application data in your personnel file should you decide to work for us. This file will be stored for as long as necessary, and the application data will be kept for a maximum of 2 years after entering into employment.

A social media and internet screening can be part of the application procedure. This is necessary for us to preserve our image when hiring new staff; we do this on a legitimate interest basis. We will do a search of your name on Google and any profile you may have on various social media. This applies, of course, insofar as these profiles are public. We will not ask you to grant us access to a private social media page or to accept a request from us. The results of the screening will be discussed with you. Should you have any objections to this, you can inform us by email at the time of your application.

To whom we pass on information
STM will only share your data with third parties to the extent permitted by current legislation. We may provide your personal data to third parties when:

  • we have engaged them to process certain data;
  • we have a legal basis to do so;
  • we are legally obligated to do so (e.g., if the police demand this in case of a suspicion of a crime).

Third parties processing personal data on our behalf or yours:

  • IT suppliers and service providers, such as a(n):
  • hosting provider for our website
  • CRM system for managing member data and communications
  • platform that provides access to our online community
  • email marketing service for sending newsletters

Some of these parties are located outside the European Economic Area (EEA), including in the United States.

  • Cookie service providers, such as a tool that helps us obtain valid cookie consent from website visitors, and services that support the use of functional, analytical, and marketing cookies. Some of these parties are located outside the EEA, including in the United States.

More information about the types of cookies we use, their purposes, and specific providers can be found in our cookie policy.

  • Payment service providers and collections agencies for the purpose of handling payments.
  • Partner companies, where relevant to the operation and improvement of our services, such as:
  • STM Solutions, which provides shared services and infrastructure to support the scholarly communications community and offers a home for prototyping, evaluation, development and operation of new services.
  • STM Services, which provides operational and strategic support to STM in areas such as membership services, communications, and event facilitation. It may process personal data on STM’s behalf in connection with these support functions.
  • External advisors and intermediaries such as:
  • HR and payroll service providers for contract management, salary processing, and employee administration.
  • Accounting and tax consultants who support us in meeting our fiscal and social security obligations.
  • Social insurance and tax authorities, when required by law.

Some of these parties are located outside the EEA, including in the United Kingdom.

  • Event venues for the purpose of organizing and facilitating physical events, including managing access and catering.
  • Government agencies (e.g., tax authorities, municipalities) for tax reporting and compliance with local regulations.

When sharing your personal data with these parties, we take appropriate safeguards to protect your privacy.

The European Commission has adopted an adequacy decision for 15 countries. Based on an adequacy decision, personal data can be transferred securely from the EEA to companies in these countries, without the need for additional data protection safeguards.

When we share data with companies in other countries without an adequacy decision (or US companies not covered by the EU-US Data Privacy Framework), we take additional protection measures in the form of so-called appropriate safeguards. This means that we take extra action to protect your personal data. We use, among other things, standard contractual clauses (“SCCs”) for this purpose.

When we transfer your personal data to parties outside the EEA on the basis of SCCs, you have the following rights:

  • Request information about the transfer, including a copy of the SCCs.
  • Contact both us and the receiving party for information.
  • Submit complaints to the receiving party, the Dutch Data Protection Authority, a competent court in the EEA or an independent dispute resolution body.
  • Claim damages for violations of the SCCs.

These rights are in addition to your general privacy rights under the GDPR. This privacy statement applies only to the services of STM. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other websites, which can be accessed through a link on our website.

 Social media buttons

We use social media buttons on our website that redirect you to the relevant social media platforms. This gives you the option to follow us and share content. You will also see advertisements on your social media page. The buttons operate through bits of code provided by the social media networks. If you want to know what the social media platforms do with your personal data, please read the relevant privacy statement:

Steps we take to secure the information

Personal data security is of great importance to us. We therefore take appropriate technical and organisational security measures with regard to the processing of personal data to be carried out, against loss or against any form of unlawful processing (such as unauthorized access, corruption, alteration or disclosure of personal data). We constantly update security and pay close attention to what can go wrong.

Personal information is stored on secure servers in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Access to servers is restricted to personnel engaged by STM and authorized third parties solely for STM’s purposes. As we value your privacy deeply, we have made every effort to take suitable security measures to secure the transmission of information.

Your rights in relation to personal information we hold about you

  • Right of access: you have the right to view the personal data that we process about you.
  • Right to rectification: you have the right to correct or supplement the personal data we process about you if it is incorrect or incomplete.
  • Right to object: you can object to the processing of your personal data.
  • Right to erasure: you can request us to delete your personal data.
  • Right to withdraw your consent: if you have consented to us processing personal data, you can withdraw your consent at any time.
  • Right to data portability: if it is technically possible, you have the right to have your personal data that we process transferred to a third party.
  • Right to restriction of processing: in some cases, you can request us to limit the processing of your personal data (temporarily or otherwise).

With your request, we may ask you to identify yourself. We request data for this to ensure that you are the right person to whom the personal data belongs.

We will generally comply with your request within 30 days. However, this period may be extended for reasons related to the specific privacy rights or the complexity of the request. If we extend this term, we will inform you in time. If you wish to exercise one of your rights, you can make this known via info@stm-assoc.org.

Changes to this privacy statement

The internet and data privacy best practice are both developing. We therefore reserve the right to revise our privacy statement at any time. If this privacy statement changes in any way, we will place an updated version on this page. Regularly reviewing this page ensures you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we will share it with other parties.

 Questions or filing a complaint

If you have a question, comment or complaint in respect of this privacy statement, please contact us at info@stm-assoc.org. We handle every question and complaint internally and communicate this further with you. If you think that we are not helping you in the right way, you have the right to submit a complaint to the supervisory authority: the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens)

Contact details

For questions about our privacy statement or your rights, you can always contact us using the following information:

International Association of Scientific Technical and Medical Publishers
Prins Willem Alexanderhof 5,
2595 BE Den Haag,
The Netherlands

Email address: info@stm-assoc.org

Phone number: +44 (0) 1865 339323

Chamber of Commerce number: 41200219

STM also has a data protection officer (DPO). The DPO can be approached via dpo@stm-assoc.org.

If you have a question, comment or complaint in respect of this privacy statement, please contact us at info@stm-assoc.org.

(Version: 22 July 2025)