B.C.R.
BINDING CORPORATE RULES
BINDING CORPORATE RULES
The Total Group (or “Total”) promotes a culture and practices regarding the protection of personal data[1], in accordance with the applicable laws. To this end, Total has implemented Binding Corporate Rules (“BCRs”).
This document summarizes the data protection principles that apply under our BCRs and the rights granted by them.
Our BCRs are a set of internal binding rules, which are applicable to all of the Total subsidiaries that have adopted them. They have been approved by the European data protection authorities.
They allow Total subsidiaries to transfer personal data originating from the European economic area (“EEA”)[2] to Total subsidiaries located outside of the EEA in compliance with the applicable law.
Our BCRs apply to all EEA-originating personal data processed by Total subsidiaries including data relating to former and current employees, job applicants, clients and prospective clients, suppliers and sub-contractors and the staff of third companies acting on behalf of the Group subsidiaries as well as shareholders (hereafter “data subjects”).
The following principles set out in our BCRs must be respected, among which:
Any processing[3] operation carried out has a legal basis, provided by the applicable law.
Personal data must only be processed for lawful, determined and legitimate purposes. The data must not be further processed in a way which is incompatible with those purposes.
Personal data must be accurate and proportionate, in terms of quality and quantity, in relation to the purpose of the processing.
Personal data must be obtained lawfully and loyally. Data subjects must be informed about the characteristics of the processing of their personal data and about their rights, unless this proves impossible or would involve disproportionate efforts.
Personal data must be protected by appropriate security measures to limit the risks of unauthorized access, destruction, alteration or loss.
To do so, a set of internal norms apply, allowing to ensure the security and the confidentiality of personal data:
When calling upon the services of a third party to process personal data, Total subsidiary makes sure that the latter offers sufficient guarantees as regards the security and confidentiality of data.
Personal data must be retained only for a reasonable and not excessive period of time with regard to the purpose of the processing.
When the retention period expires, the data is destroyed, anonymized or archived.
Total does not transfer personal data originating from a country of the EEA directly to a Total subsidiary located in a third country which does not provide an adequate level of protection, unless such subsidiary has formally subscribed to the BCRs or uses another legal instrument recognized by the European Commission.
Total does not transfer personal data originating from the EEA directly to a company not belonging to the Group located in a country which does not provide an adequate level of data protection (data controller or processor) without a legal basis under applicable law and instruments providing for sufficient safeguards, such as the standard contractual clauses.
Similarly, where a data importer further transfers personal data originating from the EEA to a company not belonging to the Group (data controller or processor) located in a country which does not provide an adequate level of data protection, the data importer shall enter into an agreement with this company whereby it commits to observe the principles of BCRs.
Under our BCRs, data subjects whose personal data are processed have the following rights:
[A comprehensive list of the rights granted by the BCRs is detailed in APPENDIX 1 hereafter].
Data subjects may exercise these rights by submitting a request using the contact details provided in the legal notice concerning the processing of their data. Total subsidiaries undertake to give replies within the legal deadline about queries concerning the processing outside the EEA.
Moreover, if data subjects believe that a Total subsidiary has failed to observe the BCRs, they have the right to lodge a complaint by sending:
or
Data subjects will be informed about the status of their complaint and of any further steps.
The internal complaint procedure is described in APPENDIX 2 hereafter.
The fact that data subjects may file a complaint with Total does not affect their rights to lodge a complaint with the competent EEA data protection authorities or to bring an action before the courts of the EEA country where the Total subsidiary responsible for exporting the personal data is established.
An internal « personal data Protection network » is in charge of monitoring and controlling the implementation of the BCRs within the Group. It is composed of:
To ensure the proper application of our BCRs, some internal control and audit mechanisms have been implemented.
An annual internal control plan is defined by the personal data Protection network to assess the level of compliance of the Group’s processing regarding our BCRs. A reporting is also set up to report regularly on the actions plans that have been drawn up after evaluations.
Furthermore, the Group Internal Audit Direction also integrates the control of the personal data protection pattern into its periodic audit plan.
If necessary, our BCRs may be completed or updated.
A copy of the comprehensive version of our BCRs as well as a list of Total subsidiaries that adopted them can be obtained by sending an e-mail at: data-protection@total.com
THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARY RIGHTS
Our BCRs grant rights to Data Subjects to enforce the Rules as third-party beneficiaries.
More specifically, they may enforce the following principles according to the terms and conditions set out in our BCRs:
- Is taken in the course of the entering into or performance of a contract, provided the request for the entering into or the performance of the contract, lodged by the Data Subject, has been satisfied or that there are suitable measures to safeguard his/her legitimate interests, such as arrangements allowing him/her to express his/her point of view; or
- Is authorized by Applicable Law, which also lays down measures to safeguard the Data Subject’s legitimate interests;
INTERNAL COMPLAINT HANDLING PROCEDURE
If a Data Subject believes that a Total Subsidiary has not complied with Total’s BCRs, he/she may file a complaint in accordance with the complaint procedure set forth in the relevant privacy policy or contract or pursuant to the procedure described below.
Data Subjects may file a complaint by sending:
or
The complaint should clearly provide as much detail as possible about the issue raised, including:
Within three months of Total receiving a complaint, the appropriate Branch Data Privacy Lead (“BDPL”) shall inform the Data Subject in writing of the admissibility of the complaint; and if the latter is admissible, of the corrective actions that Total has taken or will take in response. The appropriate BDPL shall ensure that, if necessary, appropriate corrective actions are taken to achieve compliance with the BCRs.
The appropriate BDPL shall send a copy of the complaint and any written reply to the Corporate Data Privacy Lead (“CDPL”).
If the Data Subject is not satisfied with the response from the appropriate BDPL (e.g., the complaint has been rejected), he/she may refer to the CDPL by sending an e-mail or letter as indicated above. The CDPL will review the complaint and reach a decision within three months of the data the request was received. Following this period, the CDPL will inform the Data Subject whether the initial response has been upheld or communicate a new response.
The fact that Data Subjects may file a complaint with Total does not affect their right to lodge a complaint with the competent National Supervisory Authority or bring an action before the court of the EEA Member State where the Data exporter is established.
[1] Personal data means any information enabling the direct or indirect identification of a natural person.
[2] EEA means Member States of the European Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
[3] Processing means any operation which is performed upon personal data, whether or not by automatic means (e.g: collection, recording, storage, destruction…).
[4] Transfer means all virtual and physical exchanges of EEA-originating personal data from one country to another.
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