We, NIC(Malta), consider it important to protect the privacy rights of those who use or visit our website ("you"). We are therefore providing this Privacy Policy, explaining our information practices and the choices that you can make about the way in which your personal information is collected and used.

By providing us with your personal information and using our services, you signify your consent to the processing by us of such personal data in accordance with this Privacy Policy, as described below.

The personal data we collect

We may collect personal information during Handle registration and maintenance and, possibly, during other stages of registration, renewal and maintenance of a domain name under the .mt registry. Such personal information may comprise such person's name, physical address, e-mail address, telephone numbers, fax number and personal details related to processing of payments.

The purposes for which we process personal data

When you provide us with personal information to register, renew or maintain a domain name, we shall process it for that purpose only.

Payment card details

We do not process card numbers, expiry dates and CVVs that are submitted to effect payments other than for processing of payment. Furthermore, the card numbers, expiry dates and CVVs are not being stored by NIC(Malta) but passed directly to the payment gateway.

Publishing personal data

If you so register, renew or maintain a domain name under the .mt registry, you are subject to our terms and conditions, which inter alia describe the manner in which and the purposes for which we shall process your data. This includes:

• publishing such information through the whois service; and

• providing information to third parties having a legitimate reason to know that information.

Personal data published as indicated above may also be accessible to countries outside the European Union.

The use of cookies

We make use of "cookie technology" on our website. A cookie is an element of data that a website can send to your browser, which may then store it on your system. Cookies are retrieved from your system for each session visiting our website. The information so gathered through cookies may include the date and time of visits, the pages viewed and the time you spend on our website.

Cookies enable the continuity of a session to be maintained, and a repeat visit to our website to be recognised. However none of the information collected by means of cookies is associated with the individual user. We do not use cookie technology to capture individual e-mail addresses nor any personally identifying information.

Should you wish to reject some or all cookies used by our website, you may modify your web browser preferences to do so. However by rejecting all cookies, some of the services available on our website may become unavailable. You may therefore set your browser to issue a notification when a cookie is received, giving you the opportunity to choose whether to accept it.

Retention of personal data

No personal data that we process will be kept longer than necessary for the purposes for which it is processed.

Disclosure of personal data

Other than as stated in this Privacy Policy, we do not transfer personal data relating to you to any third party without your prior consent or unless we are otherwise authorised or obliged to make any such transfer by law.

However, we do reserve the right to disclose personal data as may be necessary in order to:

• protect against abuse, misuse or unauthorised use of our website;

• protect the personal safety or property of our customers and users (e.g. if you provide false or deceptive information about yourself or attempt to pose as someone else, we shall disclose any information we may have about you in our possession so as to assist any type of investigation into your actions);

• provide you with a particular service that you may request; or

• perform any contract you may have entered into with us.

Security

We make reasonable efforts to safeguard the confidentiality of all personal data that we process relating to you and regularly review and enhance our technical, physical and managerial procedures so as to ensure that your personal data is protected from:

• unauthorised access;

• improper use or disclosure;

• unauthorised modification;

• unlawful destruction or accidental loss.

To this end we have implemented technical measures to protect the personal data that we have under our control. All our employees and data processors, who have access to and are associated with the processing of personal data, are further obliged to respect the confidentiality of personal data collected from visitors to our website.

By its very nature however the Internet is not a secure medium and data sent via this medium can potentially be subject to unauthorised acts by third parties. We cannot guarantee the privacy or confidentiality of any information transmitted via the Internet. Moreover, data sent via the Internet may be transmitted across international borders even where sender and receiver of information are located in the same country. Consequently, data relating to you may be transmitted via a country having a lower level of data protection than that existing in your country of residence.

We shall accept no responsibility or liability whatsoever for the security of your data while in transit through the Internet.

Access to the personal data that we may process about you

You have a right to request access to the personal data that we process in relation to you. Any such request must be made in writing to:

and must further be signed by the data subject to whom the particular data relates.

Should you wish to update or modify any personal data that we process about you, you may do so by modifying the appropriate registration details. Most modifications can be effected online. Other modifications can be requested in writing to the Data Controller at above address.

Third-party websites

This Privacy Policy and Legal Statement relates solely to the website of NIC(Malta).

Our website may contain links to third party websites. Any such links are not an endorsement by us of any information or services in such websites and we shall not accept any responsibility whatsoever for the content, use, availability, privacy practices or the content of any such website.

Upon browsing to any other website, you become subject to the Privacy Policy, if any, of such other site.

Privacy compliance

We are registered with the Office of the Commissioner for Data Protection, Malta to process personal data in accordance with the Maltese Data Protection Act, 2001. Our Privacy Policy is compliant with this Act.

Privacy support

If you have an enquiry or concern about our Privacy Policy, please contact:

We welcome any comments or suggestions that you may have, which may contribute to our offering you a better quality of service.

Changes to the privacy policy

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time. Any such changes will be posted here so that you are always kept informed of how and why we process your personal information.

We invite you to consult this Privacy Policy from time to time in order to become aware of any changes. The date when this Policy was last updated is indicated at the end of this Policy.

Copyright

The entire content of our website is the copyright of NIC(Malta), with all rights reserved.

Disclaimer

Without prejudice to anything contained above, we expressly disclaim any and all liability whatsoever in respect of anything and in respect of the consequences of anything done or omitted to be done wholly or partly in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of our website.

We further expressly disclaim any and all liability in respect of any loss or damage suffered by any person of the information contained on our website.

All information on our website is:

• of a general informative nature only;

• not necessarily comprehensive, complete or up-to-date;

• subject to change without notice; and

• sometimes linked to external websites over which we have no control and for which we assume no responsibility.

We give no warranties of any kind, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of any information on our website.

Nothing on our website constitutes advice. No person should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any matter contained in our website without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue.