Generation Application Platform
Privacy Policy and Data Security Protocol
Last updated: 11 April 2023
This Privacy Policy describes the policies and procedures on the collection, use and disclosure of Your information when You use The Platform and tells You about Your privacy rights as per the Protection of Personal Information Act of South Africa. By using The Platform, You agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Interpretation and Definitions
Interpretation
The words of which the initial letter is capitalized have meanings defined under the following conditions. The following definitions shall have the same meaning regardless of whether they appear in singular or in plural.
Definitions
For the purposes of this Privacy Policy:
Account means a unique account created for You or By You to access our Service or parts of our Service.
Platform refers to the SSEG Online Application Platform.
SSEG System refers to a small scale embedded energy generation installation.
Municipality refers to a registered municipality on The Platform that has been approved to process submitted applications.
Cookies are small files that are placed on Your computer, mobile device or any other device by a website, containing the details of Your browsing history on that website among its many uses.
Country refers to: South Africa
Device means any device that can access The Platform such as a computer, a cellphone or a digital tablet.
Personal Data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual.
Service Provider means any natural or legal person who processes the data on behalf of The Platform. It refers to third-party companies or individuals employed by The Platform to facilitate The Platform, to provide The Platform on behalf of The Platform, to perform services related to The Platform or to assist The Platform in analyzing how The Platform is used.
Usage Data refers to data collected automatically, either generated by the use of The Platform or from The Platform infrastructure itself (for example, the duration of a page visit).
Website refers to the SSEG Online Application Platform, accessible from https://apply.sseg.org.za/
You means the individual accessing or using The Platform or other legal entity on behalf of which such individual is accessing or using The Platform, as applicable.
POPIA refers to the Protection of Personal Information Act of South Africa
Collecting and Using Your Personal Data
Types of Data Collected
Personal Data
While using The Platform, You may be asked to provide certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify You. Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to:
Email address
First name and last name
Phone number
Address, Province, Postal code, City
Usage Data
Usage Data
Usage Data is collected automatically when using The Platform.
Usage Data may include information such as Your Device's Internet Protocol address (e.g. IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of The Platform that You visit, the time and date of Your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.
When You access The Platform by or through a mobile device, The Platform may collect certain information automatically, including, but not limited to, the type of mobile device You use, Your mobile device unique ID, the IP address of Your mobile device, Your mobile operating system, the type of mobile Internet browser You use, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.
The Platform may also collect information that Your browser sends whenever You visit The Platform or when You access The Platform by or through a mobile device.
Tracking Technologies and Cookies
We use Cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on The Platform and store certain information. Tracking technologies used are beacons, tags, and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyse The Platform. The technologies We use may include:
- Cookies or Browser Cookies. A cookie is a small file placed on Your Device. You can instruct Your browser to refuse all Cookies or to indicate when a Cookie is being sent. However, if You do not accept Cookies, You may be unable to use some parts of our Service. Unless you have adjusted Your browser setting so that it will refuse Cookies, our Service may use Cookies.
Cookies can be "Persistent" or "Session" Cookies. Persistent Cookies remain on Your personal computer or mobile device when You go offline, while Session Cookies are deleted as soon as You close Your web browser.
We use both Session and Persistent Cookies for the purposes set out below:
Necessary / Essential Cookies
Type: Session Cookies
Administered by: The Platform
Purpose: These Cookies are essential to provide You with services available through The Platform and to enable You to use some of its features. They help to authenticate users and prevent fraudulent use of user accounts. Without these Cookies, The Platform’s services cannot be provided, and We only use these Cookies to provide You with such services.
Cookies Policy / Notice Acceptance Cookies
Type: Persistent Cookies
Administered by: The Platform
Purpose: These Cookies identify if users have accepted the use of cookies on the Website.
Functionality Cookies
Type: Persistent Cookies
Administered by: The Platform
Purpose: These Cookies allow The Platform to remember choices You make when You use The Platform, such as remembering your login details or language preference. The purpose of these Cookies is to provide You with a more personal experience and to avoid You having to re-enter your preferences every time You use The Platform.
Use of Your Personal Data
The Platform may use Personal Data for the following purposes:
To provide and maintain The Platform Services, including monitoring the usage of The Platform Service.
To manage Your Account: to manage Your registration as a user of The Platform. The Personal Data You provide can give You access to different functionalities of The Platform that are available to You as a registered user.
To contact You: To contact You by email, telephone calls, SMS, or other equivalent forms of electronic communication regarding updates or informative communications related to the functionalities, including the security updates, when necessary or reasonable for their implementation.
To manage Your requests: To attend and manage Your requests to The Platform or to the relevant municipality.
For other purposes:The Platform and relevant municipality that are registered on The Platform may use Your information for other purposes, such as data analysis, identifying usage trends, determining the effectiveness of promotional campaigns and to evaluate and improve The Platform, and your experience.
We may share Your personal information in the following situations:
- With Service Providers: We may share Your personal information with Service Providers to monitor and analyse the use of The Platform or to contact You.
- With Your consent: We may disclose Your personal information for any other purpose with Your consent.
Retention of Your Personal Data
The Platform will retain Your Personal Data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We will retain and use Your Personal Data to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.
The Platform will also retain Usage Data for internal analysis purposes. Usage Data is generally retained for a shorter period of time, except when this data is used to strengthen the security or to improve the functionality of The Platform, or if The Platform is legally obligated to retain this data for longer time periods.
Transfer of Your Personal Data
Your information, including Personal Data, is processed at The Platform's operating offices and in the offices of Municipalities registered to use The Platform. It means that this information may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of Your province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ from those from Your jurisdiction.
Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by Your submission of such information represents Your agreement to that transfer.
The Platform will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that Your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and no transfer of Your Personal Data will take place to an organisation or a country unless there are adequate controls in place including the security of Your data and other personal information.
Amending Your Personal Data
You may update or amend Your information at any time by signing into Your Account, if you have one, and visiting the account settings section that allows you to manage Your personal information. You may also contact The Platform management to request access to, correct, or potentially delete any personal information that You have provided to Us.
Please note, however, that The Platform may need to retain certain application information whilst you have an operating SSEG system, or when we have a legal obligation or lawful basis to do so.
Disclosure of Your Personal Data
Law enforcement
Under certain circumstances, The Platform may be required to disclose Your Personal Data if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g. a court or a government agency).
Other legal requirements
The Platform may disclose Your Personal Data in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:
- Comply with a legal obligation
- Protect and defend the rights or property of The Platform
- Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with The Platform
- Protect the personal safety of Users of The Platform or the public
- Protect against legal liability
Security of Your Personal Data
The security of Your Personal Data is important, but it must be noted that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While The Platform strives to use commercially acceptable means to protect Your Personal Data, The Platform cannot guarantee its absolute security.
Platform Security
Server Details
The Platform is hosted on a secure and reliable server based in South Africa that is provided and maintained by Xneelo. Xneelo is a leading South African web hosting service that provides managed servers that offer 24/7 monitoring, daily backups, and DDoS protection & mitigation. Xneelo’s world-class, carrier-neutral data centre is located in Johannesburg and is fully PCI-DSS certified. Their data centre consists of the following:
- Fault tolerant, 2N power distribution design with separated A and B power feeds, backed by a fully redundant UPS and generator backup power system on each feed. Enough fuel on site to continuously run generators for up to 7 days uninterrupted.
- Energy efficient climate control system using free cooling and cold aisle containment technology resulting in significant power savings.
- The hosting network is built on Juniper technology that provides superior uptime and reliability.
- Technology-driven measures provide perimeter, building and access-control security. The perimeter is protected by high voltage barriers and the latest video surveillance and response systems. All access zones, and racks, are monitored. Biometric access control systems allow unattended access to authorised visitors. Security personnel are on site 24/7.
- Multi-zoned VESDA fire detection system, deployed throughout the data centre, the energy centres and diesel tanks. This system is backed by stringent fire mitigation procedures and best practice.
To learn more about xneelo’s POPIA Compliance, please visit this webpage.
Backup schedule
The data stored within The Platform is backed up by Xneelo on a regular basis for emergency situations. Incremental backups are processed daily, allowing the platform to be restored to the most recent available backup. These backups are kept for 2 weeks.
Platform Access Control
In addition, the following best practices are adhered to in the management and design of The Platform:
- Limits access to data or services through application controls
- Restrict access to unauthorised users
- Users who have access to personal data are aware that it is sensitive and cannot be shared for purposes not included in this privacy policy.
Children's Privacy
The Platform does not address anyone under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 18. If You are a parent or guardian and You are aware that Your child has provided The Platform with Personal Data, please contact The Platform Management. If We become aware that the Platform has collected Personal Data from anyone under the age of 18 without verification of parental consent, the Platform will take steps to remove that information from its servers.
Links to Other Websites
The Platform may contain links to other websites that are not operated by The Platform. If You click on a third-party link, You will be directed to that third party's site. We strongly advise You to review the Privacy Policy of every site You visit.
The Platform has no control over and assumes no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third-party sites or services.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
The Platform Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time. The Platform will notify You of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page.
The Platform will let You know via email and/or a prominent notice on The Platform, prior to the change becoming effective and update the "Last updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy.
You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, You can contact The Platform management by email on support@sseg.org.za
