Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

This Privacy Policy explains how Media International News LTD ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, and protects your personal data when you use the america-newspaper.com website or interact with us in any way.

We are committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. Data We Collect

2.1 Information you provide directly

• Awards entry forms: brand name, company name, country, contact name, product name, category, and any additional product information you choose to include.
• Contact form submissions: your name, email address, subject, and message content.
• Newsletter sign-up: your email address.

2.2 Information collected automatically

• IP address and approximate geographic location.
• Browser type, version, and operating system.
• Pages visited, time on page, and referral source.
• Cookies and similar tracking technologies — see our Cookie Policy for details.

3. How We Use Your Data

Purpose	Legal Basis
Processing and judging awards entries	Performance of a contract / legitimate interests
Communicating awards results and invoicing	Performance of a contract
Responding to contact form enquiries	Legitimate interests
Sending the newsletter (if subscribed)	Consent
Improving the Site and analysing traffic	Legitimate interests
Complying with legal obligations	Legal obligation

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling.

4. How Long We Keep Your Data

• Awards entry data: retained for 5 years after the relevant award year for record-keeping and dispute resolution purposes.
• Contact form messages: retained for 2 years unless you request earlier deletion.
• Newsletter subscriptions: retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion.
• Website analytics: aggregated and anonymised data retained indefinitely; individual session data retained for up to 26 months.

5. Who We Share Your Data With

We may share your data with the following categories of third parties, all of whom are bound by appropriate data processing agreements:

• Awards judges: product information (not personal contact data) is shared with our panel of judges for judging purposes only.
• Email service providers: to deliver newsletters and transactional emails.
• Analytics providers: anonymised or pseudonymised data only.
• Payment processors: invoicing and payment collection for Gold Medal winners.
• Legal and regulatory authorities: where required by law.

We do not transfer your data outside the UK or European Economic Area unless adequate safeguards are in place (e.g. Standard Contractual Clauses).

6. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights:

Right	What it means
Access	Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Rectification	Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Erasure	Ask us to delete your data ("right to be forgotten"), subject to legal retention obligations.
Restriction	Ask us to restrict processing of your data in certain circumstances.
Portability	Request a machine-readable copy of the data you provided to us.
Objection	Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
Withdraw consent	Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent (e.g. newsletter).

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us via our contact form. We will respond within 30 days.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK data protection supervisory authority, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

7. Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, or disclosure. These include SSL/TLS encryption, access controls, and regular security reviews.

However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

8. Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies on our Site. For full details, please see our Cookie Policy.

9. Children's Privacy

The Site is intended for business professionals and is not directed at individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such data, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The date of the most recent update appears at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

11. Contact & Complaints

For any privacy-related questions, requests, or concerns, please use our contact form.