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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about GDPR

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edX Derek
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  1. What is GDPR?
    The term “GDPR” refers to the General Data Protection Regulation, a European Union (EU) law about data privacy and security. Among other things, it regulates the transfer of personal information across EU borders and establishes certain individual rights relative to personal information. It was passed by the EU in 2016 and is effective as of May 25, 2018.

  2. Does edX have to comply with GDPR?
    Like many US-based organizations, edX is making a good faith effort to comply, given our global reach with learners and partners.

  3. Does edX participate in Privacy Shield?
    Privacy Shield is a voluntary program sponsored by the US government as a way for US-based entities to self-certify to EU partners that they can lawfully receive transfers of EU personal information.  The program is administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce and enforced by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), and only entities that are regulated by FTC are eligible to participate. Because FTC does not regulate nonprofit organizations like edX, we are not eligible to participate in Privacy Shield.

  4. What data does edX have about me?
    The information collected from users and visitors to edx.org is described in the Privacy Policy (under the heading “Information That edX Collects From You”). EdX requires personal information only in limited circumstances as described in the Privacy Policy.

    Much of the information that edX stores about you is available via your edX account.  This includes your profile information, account settings, and your dashboard. The dashboard lists all current and archived courses in which you are enrolled and includes links to any course and program certificates you may have earned. Through the dashboard, you can also access the course content and view your work and performance on assessments and your posts in public forum discussions. If you need assistance locating any of the information available via your edX account, please let us know.

    As explained in the Privacy Policy, cookies and other technologies are used to track information about your activity on the edX  website (for example, which pages were visited), as well as system and browser data. This information is archived in a course-based format that serves our mission to support academic research on teaching, learning, and other areas of cognitive science and education.  We also use this information to improve edX offerings.

  5. Does edX collect biometric data?
    At this point neither edX nor any of our data processing vendors collects any data or conducts any specific technical processing (e.g., no 3D faceprint technology) that would qualify as biometric, except with respect to certain courses that have remote proctoring where the learner has given specific consent.
  6. Does edX sell or give my personal information to advertisers?
    No, edX does not sell or otherwise give your personal data to advertisers. Learner information is used only as described in the Privacy Policy.

  7. Does edX use cookies or tracking technologies and/or share my information with any vendors?
    Yes, as noted above and explained in the Privacy Policy, cookies and tracking technologies are used to help track activity on the website and in courses, and we work with several service providers that help run our website and carry out daily business activities. For a list of some key vendors that process learner data, please see the list maintained at the edX Help Center page for Service Provider FAQs.
     
  8. How do I get removed from the edX marketing lists?
    When you first create an account on edX, you will receive a welcome email that contains links for unsubscribing from edX marketing emails and updating subscription preferences. All further marketing email you receive from us will contain unsubscribe links. You may also contact our support team for help.

  9. Can I ask edX to delete my account and personal data?
    Yes, the edX platform is being updated to add a “delete my account” button to the learner account settings. You can learn more about account and data deletion at the edX Help Center page for Account Deletion FAQs.

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