Argus privacy policy

Controllers and Representatives 

Argus is made up of different legal entities, details of which may be found here. This Privacy Policy is issued on behalf of the Argus group, so when we mention “Argus”, “we”, “us” or “our” in this Privacy Policy, we are referring to all Argus group companies Processing your Personal Information, each of which acts as a Controller for the purposes of this Privacy Policy. 

Argus’ UK Data Protection Representative is Argus Media Limited, whose registered address is at Lacon House, 84 Theobald's Road, London, WC1X 8NL, UK.

Argus’ EU Data Protection Representative is Argus Media Germany GmbH, whose registered address is at Neuer Wall 59, 20354 Hamburg, Germany. 

Contact Details

Argus group companies have appointed a Data Protection Officer to oversee the Processing of Personal Information.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or about your rights in relation to your Personal Information, please address them by email to Argus’ Data Protection Officer: DPO@argusmedia.com or by writing to The Data Protection Officer, Argus Media Limited, Lacon House, 84 Theobald's Road, London, WC1X 8NL, UK. 

Changes to the Privacy Policy and your duty to inform us of changes 

We will update this Privacy Policy from time to time in response to changing legal, regulatory or operational requirements. 

It is important that the Personal Information we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your Personal Information changes during your relationship with us. You can do this by sending updates or corrections to your main or regular point of contact at Argus.

Last Updated: This Privacy Policy was last updated on 21^th February 2024. This Privacy Policy is published by Argus Media Limited, Registered in England and Wales under Company Registration No 1642534, with its registered office at Lacon House, 84 Theobald's Road, London, WC1X 8NL, UK.

Third-party links 

Our websites may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share Personal Information about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our websites, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

We collect Personal Information:

1. when you interact with us through our websites, our mobile device or desktop applications, our program add-ins, or any other Argus tool or delivery platform through which we make our content available (the “Argus Content Platforms”);
   
   
2. through automated technologies or interactions. As you interact with the Argus Content Platforms, we will automatically collect information about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this Personal Information by using cookies and other similar technologies. Please see our cookie policy  for further details;
   
   
3. as a result of your subscribing to or contracting for our services;
   
   
4. as a result of your registration or attendance at conferences, webinars and other events which we organise ourselves or in association with other organisers, or at events not organised by us or which Argus sponsors or otherwise participates in where you interact with our staff or your Personal Information is captured by or shared with Argus, for example as a result of your event identity badge being scanned; 
   
   
5. when you communicate with or otherwise provide your Personal Information to our staff, including, for example, through instant messaging applications, social media websites and other websites and apps, email, telephone, in person or otherwise; 
   
   
6. when you visit our premises and your Personal Information is recorded for building security purposes; and/or
   
   
7. through our own research, through our partnerships and from third parties that provide it to us such as:

• your employer and others with whom you have a contractual relationship, including in order to activate and manage your access to and use of your employer’s subscription to our services; 
• our business partners and service providers who we work with to deliver our content, products and services, or to deliver cobranded or sponsored events, conferences, webinars or marketing campaigns; 
• data suppliers, brokers or aggregators from which we collect new data or obtain data to validate or supplement the data we already hold;
• publicly available sources, such as social media sites, websites and commercial registries; 
  credit reference agencies; and
• law enforcement authorities.
  
   

The categories of Personal Information we Process are as follows:

1. personal and business contact information, such as name, maiden name, marital status, title, address, telephone number, email address, date of birth and your title or prefix (e.g. Mr, Mrs, Ms, Prof, Dr, etc.);
   
   
2. business contact data such as your employer’s name, your employer’s address, your role, your business telephone number and your business email address or any instant messaging or social media identifiers;
   
   
3. financial information, such as billing information;
   
   
4. information necessary for providing services to you, such as user IDs or similar identifiers and passwords, product and service preferences and contact preferences;
   
   
5. information about how you use our Argus Content Platforms, products and services (“Usage Data”) including your login event data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, and other technology on the devices you use to access the Argus Content Platforms;
   
   
6. geo-location data such as your IP address or physical location including when captured as Usage Data; 
   
   
7. details of the services you have purchased from us or which you have enquired about, together with any additional information necessary to deliver those services and to respond to your enquiries;
   
   
8. any additional information relating to you that you provide to us directly through Argus Content Platforms; and
   
   
9. information you provide to us through our customer surveys.

We will only Process your Personal Information in a fair, lawful and transparent manner. The purposes for which we Process Personal Information and our legal basis for Processing may be found here. 

We may combine Personal Information you give to us and other information we collect about you. When combined, this will be treated as Personal Information and we will only use it in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

We are an international group with many centralised systems and processes and your Personal Information may be shared with other companies in the Argus group and stored and Processed, including being accessed by our staff, in any country where we have operations. All such companies are bound by an intra-group agreement under which they are required to maintain strict organisational and technical measures to protect your Personal Information. Details of our group companies may be found here.

In particular, we may share Personal Information with other Argus group companies for the purposes set out here. Particularly, we share Personal Information with other Argus group companies based on our legitimate interests for administrative and marketing purposes, and to enable individuals working for different Argus group companies to effectively communicate and collaborate with one another, and with you when necessary, in order to maintain or develop business relationships or to provide a full Argus group service to our clients. 

Whenever we transfer your Personal Information out of the UK or the EEA, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. For example, where we transfer your Personal Information from the UK or the EEA to Argus group companies located outside the UK or the EEA who are not in Adequate Jurisdictions, we do so on the basis of Standard Contractual Clauses. 

We may also share your Personal Information with third parties as set out below for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. This may involve transferring your Personal Information to countries in which these third parties are based. These companies may be within or outside of the UK and the EEA and, in some cases, in countries which do not afford the same level of Personal Information protection as may be found, for instance, in the UK or in EEA countries.

Whenever we transfer your Personal Information to third parties outside of the UK or the EEA, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as:

• The third party is located in an Adequate Jurisdiction; or

• We may enter into Standard Contractual Clauses or such other contractual agreements with the third party as may be required from time to time.
  
   

• Service providers. We retain service providers to manage or support certain aspects of our business operations on our behalf, including providers of centralised systems used for company emails, customer relationship management, marketing automation, events management, enterprise resource planning and cloud storage, which are used by all Argus group companies and accessed by Argus staff worldwide. These service providers may be located in the UK, EEA, US or in other locations and may provide services such as service delivery, report personalisation, advertising and marketing activities (including digital and personalised advertising), Information Technology and Information Security services, email services, data hosting, data management and data cleansing and management or support of our websites. Our service providers are required to safeguard any Personal Information they receive from us and are prohibited from using the Personal Information for any purpose other than to perform the services as instructed by us. We may also share your Personal Information with accountants, auditors, lawyers, insurers and other external professional advisers to Argus, subject to binding contractual obligations of confidentiality. 

• Business partners. We may share your Personal Information with our business partners with whom we jointly deliver: (i) products and/or services (including our business partners who may provide access to our products and content through their own content platforms or through other delivery channels); and (ii) cobranded or sponsored events, conferences, webinars or marketing campaigns. 

• Competent law enforcement and regulatory bodies, government agencies, courts and other organisations. We may share your Personal Information when we believe that such sharing is reasonably necessary to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding possible illegal activities or to comply with legal process. We may also share your Personal Information in situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, violations of this Privacy Policy, or to respond to the claims of violation of the rights of third parties and/or to protect the rights, property and safety of Argus, our employees, users, or the public. This may involve the sharing of your Personal Information with law enforcement and regulatory bodies, government agencies, courts, and/or other organisations.

• Your employer. We may share your Personal Information with your employer and others with whom you have a contractual relationship including to carry out or exercise our rights under or to enforce our contract with them, and to provide them with details about the use of our services by certain users or categories of users and for pricing purposes. 

• Potential buyers or other transaction counterparties. As we develop our business, we may sell, buy, merge or partner with other companies or businesses, or sell some or all of our assets. In such transactions, Personal Information including marketing, customer and end-user information may be among the transferred assets or the assets disclosed in connection with the due diligence for any such transaction. This may be necessary for the performance of a contract or may be necessary in the legitimate interests of Argus or another party in order to progress any such transaction. If a change happens to our business, then the new Controller(s) may use your Personal Information in the same way as set out in this Privacy Policy. 

• The Sale of Personal Information
  Argus does not usually sell Personal Information by exchanging the information for money or other commercial benefit and so does not provide a means to opt-out of the sale of data.
  
  From time to time, Argus does share the Personal Information of those who register for, or attend, our own events, or events we organise with other organisations, and shares this registration information with the related organisers and other participants of those events where the sharing of Personal Information is intended to facilitate interactions or networking between event participants and for the purpose of individuals planning their attendance at events.
  
  Details of any such sharing are included in the registration forms or Terms and Condition of each event and where applicable include the facility to opt in to, or out of, the sharing of Personal Information.

We will only retain your Personal Information for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements. We may retain your Personal Information for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you or any situation to which your Personal Information is connected.

To determine the appropriate retention period for Personal Information, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the Personal Information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your Personal Information, the purposes for which we process your Personal Information and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or other requirements.

In some circumstances we will anonymise your Personal Information (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes, in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

We employ physical, electronic and managerial control procedures to safeguard and help protect from unauthorised, accidental or unlawful loss, destruction, alteration or disclosure or unauthorised access to your Personal Information. We choose these safeguards based on the sensitivity of the information that we collect, Process and store and the current state of technology. Our outsourced service providers who support our operations are also vetted to ensure that they too have the appropriate organisational and technical measures in place to protect your Personal Information. You can request a copy of our technical and organisational measures by using the contact information on the first page of this Privacy Policy.

This section sets out the legal rights you may have, subject to applicable law, in respect of your Personal Information that we Process. Your rights may vary based on the jurisdiction whose laws and regulations apply to you.

To exercise any of the rights you have, including those below, please email or write to the Argus Data Protection Officer at the address or email address shown at the beginning of this Privacy Policy. If your Personal Information is shared with Argus by another organisation, for example your employer, you can also request to exercise your rights with that organisation.

• Right to object

You may have the right to object to the Processing of your Personal Information where we have exercised the right to Process on the grounds of our legitimate interest, and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to Processing on this ground as you feel it impacts on your fundamental rights and freedoms. In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to Process your Personal Information which overrides your rights and freedoms. 

You may also have the right to object where we are Processing your Personal Information for direct marketing purposes. Marketing emails you receive from us include an unsubscribe instruction (usually found at the bottom of the email) that you may use to stop receiving future marketing-related emails. Alternatively, you can contact us through the details provided on the first page of this Privacy Policy. 

• Right to withdraw your consent

Where we are relying on your consent to Process your Personal Information you may withdraw your consent at any time. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any Processing carried out before you withdrew your consent. 

Please note that we may be unable to provide you with the full benefit of our Sites, or services, if you choose to withdraw your consent.

• Correction of errors in information

You can ask us to correct any errors in your Personal Information that we hold and Process. If you are unable to update your Personal Information through Argus Content Platforms, please make a request by email or write to us using the contact details shown on the first page of this Privacy Policy. We may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.

• Right to erasure

If you request us to do so and there is no valid reason for us to retain it, we will erase your Personal Information without undue delay. You may also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your Personal Information where you have successfully exercised your right to object to Processing (see above), or where we are required to erase your Personal Information to comply with applicable law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request of erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.

• Right to restriction

You may be entitled to seek the restriction of Processing if there is a disagreement between us as to whether the right of erasure applies. You may seek this right:

1. for the time needed to verify whether information is accurate if you have contested its accuracy; or
   
   
2. where you feel that we no longer need the data but you do for the purposes of a legal claim; or
   
   
3. where you have objected to the Processing but we seek to establish that we have compelling legitimate grounds for overriding your objection.

Where this right applies we will temporarily remove the data from our systems so as to avoid further Processing and we will flag the restricted data in a way that makes it clear that Processing is restricted.

• Right to object to profiling

You may object to our Processing of your Personal Information where we:

1. predict your service preferences, for example, by monitoring your browsing behaviour when you visit Argus Content Platforms; or
   
   
2. rely on automated decisions that have legal consequences or significantly affect you.

• Right to data portability

Where we Process your Personal Information by automated means and the Processing is either based on your consent or a contract with you, you can request that we transfer your Personal Information in a commonly used machine-readable form to a third-party system.

We are not responsible if the Processing systems are incompatible such that your Personal Information cannot be read by the third-party system.   

• Right to make a complaint

You may have the right to raise a complaint with the Supervisory Authority in your country of residence or the place in which you feel that your rights were infringed.
In the UK, the relevant Supervisory Authority is the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO contact details may be found at this link: https://ico.org.uk/. A list of Supervisory Authorities across the EU and their contact details is available at: https://edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/board/members_en. 

• Access to your Personal Information 

You may have the right to access your Personal Information that we maintain about you and is held by us in paper records or electronic systems. You can make a request by email or write to the Argus Data Protection Officer at the address shown on the first page of this Privacy Policy.

You will not usually have to pay a fee to access your Personal Information (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, where permitted by applicable law, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we could refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your Personal Information (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that Personal Information is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request.

We will respond to all legitimate requests according to the law that applies to you as a data subject.  If your request is complex or you have made a number of requests it may take longer to provide you with details of any of your Personal Information that is processed by Argus. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

Argus is a global organisation with group companies operating in many jurisdictions, including certain jurisdictions where it is required to make the following supplemental information available:

China, Peoples Republic (PRC)

When Argus transfers Personal Information outside of the PRC it does so on the basis of an executed standard contract.

All enquiries or requests relating to Personal Information, or to exercise data subject rights relating to your own Personal Information, or which you make on behalf of or in relation to another data subject, should be addressed by email to: DPO@argusmedia.com, or in writing to: Argus Metal-Pages (Beijing) Information Technology Co., Ltd., Room 1507, Floor 12, C 24 Jianguomenwai Avenue, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China. 

India

Enquiries relating to your Personal Information, including grievances related to your Sensitive Personal Data or Information, can be addressed to: Argus India Price Reporting Services LLP, A/701, Leo Building, Leo Aries Leo Saggitarius, Kharodi, Off Marve Road, Malad West, Mumbai, Mumbai City, Maharashtra, 400095, India or by email to: DPO@argusmedia.com. 

California

Consumers in California have the right to not be discriminated against for exercising their rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act and consumers, or their authorised agents, must be able to exercise these rights by easily accessible means and can do so by sending an email to: DPO@argusmedia.com,

or; by writing to; Argus Media, Inc., 2929 Allen Parkway, 18th Floor, Houston, TX 77019, USA

or; by writing to; Argus Media Limited at the UK address provided in the Contact Details section in this Privacy Policy.

• “Adequate Jurisdiction” means a jurisdiction that has been formally designated by the ICO or the European Commission (as applicable) as providing an adequate level of protection for Personal Information.
  
  
• “Controller” means the entity that decides how and why Personal Information is Processed. In many jurisdictions, the Controller has primary responsibility for complying with applicable data protection laws.
  
  
• “EEA” means the European Economic Area.
  
  
• “EU” means the European Union.
  
  
• “Personal Information” is any information that personally identifies you or from which an individual is identified or identifiable. This may include your name, address, telephone number, email address and profession or occupation.
  
  
• “Process”, “Processing” or “Processed” means anything that is done with any Personal Information, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction.
  
  
• “Processor” means any person or entity that Processes Personal Information on behalf of the Controller (other than employees of the Controller).
  
  
• “Sensitive Personal Information” (sometimes referred to as special category data) means Personal Information which requires a higher level of data protection. Specific definitions of Sensitive Personal Information do vary between jurisdictions and can include: racial or ethnic origin; political opinions; religious or philosophical beliefs; trade union membership; genetic data; data related to a person’s sex life or sexual orientation; and biometric data. Passwords and financial information can also be considered as Sensitive Personal Information in some jurisdictions.
  
  
• “Standard Contractual Clauses” means template transfer clauses adopted by the ICO or the European Commission (as applicable) or adopted by a Supervisory Authority and approved by the ICO or the European Commission (as applicable) including the UK’s International Data Transfer Agreement and Addendum.
  
  
• “Site” means any website(s) operated, or maintained, by us or on our behalf. 
  
  
• “Supervisory Authority” means an independent public authority that is legally tasked with overseeing compliance with applicable data protection laws.