Guidance

DVSA social media: privacy notice

Updated 2 December 2024

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dvsa-privacy-notices/dvsa-social-media-use-privacy-notice--2

1. About social media

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) uses social media to communicate with you, promote DVSA policy, road safety and other government activity.

DVSA is an executive agency of the Department for Transport (DfT).

You can find information about our social media use on GOV.UK.

The data controller for DVSA is DfT - a data controller determines the reasons and how personal data is processed. For more information see the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Data Protection Public Register. DfT’s registration number is Z7122992.

2. What data we need

The personal data we collect from you will include:

  • name
  • address
  • any personal data you provide us such as your photo, videos, opinions
  • any special category data you provide us
  • nature of your query
  • social media handles

The lawful basis for processing this data is consent where it’s been generated by you on our social media site or sites. You have the right to:

  • withdraw consent to the processing of your personal data at any time
  • ask DVSA to cease publication of your image, words and/or voice on its social media channels - if you do so, DVSA will not publish any further social media posts featuring this content, but it is not obligated to remove or delete existing posts

If you wish to contact us to make a request to exercise one of these rights, please email pressoffice@dvsa.gov.uk

Please note, it may take up to 30 days to update your data.

Where we post personal data relating to government activity, we are doing so as it’s necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller.

3. Why we need it

We need the personal data we collect from you to:

  • carry out these services
  • manage services that we provide you
  • respond to any comments you make
  • help investigate and respond to any complaints or enquiries you raise which may involve processing your data in our correspondence handling systems
  • promote DVSA policy, road safety and legislation
  • notify you about our enforcement activities, such as driving test and vehicle fraud and illegal driving instruction
  • respond to any praise you make about any of our services
  • provide you with updates about DVSA in the media and links to our coverage and interview requests
  • promote any event or activity you’re doing for a charity and there’s a connection with your work and ours
  • carry out customer satisfaction or quizzes
  • enforce our social media moderation policy and terms of use rules
  • ask you to direct your query or complaint elsewhere if it’s not appropriate to handle through social media or not for us to address

4. What we do with it

We collect, use and store the data you give us for the reasons set out in this policy.

We use a company called Hootsuite to manage, monitor and analyse social media.

Any personal data shared on social media platforms will be shared with those social media providers. You can read privacy notices for Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

We will not:

  • sell or rent your data to third parties
  • share your data with third parties for marketing purposes

We will share your data if required to do so by law. For example, by court order or to prevent fraud or other crime.

5. How long we keep your data

We will only keep your personal data for as long as it is needed for the reasons set out in this policy or as long as is required by law.

Any data you post will be held until a time it’s deleted by you or it’s removed by us as it goes against our social media moderation and terms of use policy.

Hootsuite hold your data for 30 days after the end of the contract we have with them.

6. Where it might go

Our IT infrastructure and technology has been checked to make sure it’s safe and secure.

Hootsuite uses Amazon Web Services, which is hosted in the United States of America. We have appropriate safeguards in place for processing data outside of the United Kingdom, including standard contractual clauses within the contract.

7. Protecting your data and your rights

The DVSA personal information charter sets out what steps are taken to protect your data, and the rights you have over your data.

8. Automated decision making and profiling

Your data is not subject to automated decision making or profiling as defined in data protection legislation.

9. Changes to this notice

We may change this privacy notice at its discretion at any time.

When we change this notice, the date on the page will be updated. Any changes to this privacy notice will be applied to you and your data as of the revision date.

We encourage you to periodically review this privacy notice to be informed about how your data is protected.

10. How to contact us

If you have any questions about anything in this document or if you consider that your personal data has been misused or mishandled you can contact the DVSA data protection manager.

DVSA data protection manager

Data Protection Manager
DVSA
1 Unity Square
Nottingham
NG2 1AY

Contact DVSA customer services if you have a query that is not about how your personal data is used.

You may also make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an independent regulator.

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