Privacy Policy - ESBICM | Educational Society of Bedside Intensive Care Medicine

Privacy Policy

ESBICM — Educational Society of Bedside Intensive Care Medicine

Last updated: 3 May 2026 — Version 2.0

Important: By using any part of the Service, you confirm that you have read and accepted this Privacy Policy in full. If you do not agree with any part of it, please do not register or use the Service.

This Privacy Policy applies to all personal data collected, used, retained, or otherwise processed by ESBICM through the ESBICM website (esbicm.org), the Discussion Board (formerly Forums), the Mentorship Forum, the ESBICM Café, The ICU Channel on YouTube, the ESBICM channels on WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, X, and other social-media platforms, the ESBICM Newsletter (delivered via the ESBICM Google Group or any successor platform), the ESBICM mobile application(s), ESBICM courses and webinars, and any other digital service, channel, platform, or communication operated under the ESBICM name, whether existing today or established in future (together, the “Service”).

This Privacy Policy forms part of, and should be read together with, the ESBICM Terms of Use, the ESBICM Disclaimer, and the ESBICM Paid Services & Refund Policy.

1. About this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains what personal data ESBICM collects when you use the Service, why we collect it, how we use it, how long we retain it, who can see it, and what rights you have over it. Our practices comply with the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, of India.

2. Who We Are

ESBICM (“we”, “us”, “our”) is the Educational Society of Bedside Intensive Care Medicine — a registered, non-commercial educational society founded in 2018 by Dr. Ankur Gupta, Intensivist. ESBICM is headquartered at GG-37, Scheme No. 54, Vijaynagar, Indore, Madhya Pradesh 452010, India.

For the purposes of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, ESBICM is the Data Fiduciary in respect of personal data collected through the Service.

The Grievance Officer for all data-protection queries, requests, and complaints is the Operations Director, ESBICM Office. The Operations Director can be contacted via esbicm.org/contact-us-esbicm.

3. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of personal data:

Membership data. When you register as a Life Member or Associate Life Member, we collect your name, professional designation, qualifications, contact details (email address, phone number where you provide one), country and city of practice, institutional affiliation, and any additional professional information you provide on the membership form.

Account and platform activity. Your username, profile information, posts and comments on the Discussion Board, contributions to the ICU Visual e-Library, case discussions, course participation, and any other content you submit to the Service. Where you participate in ESBICM forums, your interaction history (threads started, posts made, content you have liked or shared) is recorded.

Technical data. Your IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, the pages you visit, the time and duration of your visits, and the referring website. This is collected automatically through standard web logs and analytics.

Communication data. Messages, queries, or correspondence you send to the ESBICM Office, including via the contact form, email, or any other channel.

Cookies and similar technologies. As described in Section 9 below.

We do not knowingly collect data from children under eighteen (18) years of age, as the Service is intended for healthcare professionals and is not directed at minors.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal data only for purposes connected to ESBICM’s educational mission and the operation of the Service. Specifically, we use it to:

(a) Operate, maintain, and improve the Service;

(b) Verify your eligibility for membership and process your application;

(d) Communicate with you about ESBICM activities, courses, programmes, and updates relevant to members;

(e) Send you the ESBICM Newsletter, where you have opted in;

(f) Respond to your queries, requests, and feedback;

(g) Recognise and acknowledge contributions made by Faculty Network members;

(h) Maintain the integrity, security, and proper functioning of the Service, including detecting and preventing fraud, abuse, and unauthorised access;

(i) Comply with legal obligations, regulatory requirements, and lawful requests from authorities.

5. Lawful Basis for Processing

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and other applicable law, we process your personal data on the following lawful bases:

Consent. For membership registration, newsletter subscription, and other voluntary interactions, we process your data on the basis of your consent, given when you submit the relevant form or opt in.

Legitimate interests. For maintaining the security of the Service, preventing fraud and abuse, and supporting the lawful operation of ESBICM as an educational society, we process certain data on the basis of our legitimate interests as a Data Fiduciary, balanced against your rights.

Legal obligation. Where we are required by law to process or retain certain data — for example, in response to a lawful order from a competent authority — we do so on the basis of legal obligation.

You may withdraw your consent at any time, as set out in Section 11 below. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

6. ESBICM Does Not Sell or Trade User Data

ESBICM is a non-commercial educational society. We do not sell, rent, trade, or otherwise transfer your personal data to any third party for commercial purposes. Your name, contact details, professional information, and platform activity are used solely to operate the Service, communicate with you about ESBICM, and fulfil ESBICM’s educational mission.

This is not a regulatory minimum we observe. It is a core commitment of ESBICM. The integrity of the trust members place in us by sharing their professional details is something we have honoured since 2018, and will continue to honour.

7. Sharing of Your Information

Your personal data is accessed only by authorised personnel within ESBICM who need it to operate the Service — primarily the ESBICM Office under the Operations Director, and the Executive Committee where relevant for governance decisions.

We share data with third parties only in the following limited circumstances:

(a) Required service providers — for example, email-delivery platforms, website hosting providers, and payment processors (where applicable). Such providers are bound by data-protection obligations and may use your data only to provide the service to ESBICM.

(b) Legal authorities — where required by a lawful order, court direction, or other legal obligation.

(c) Successor entities — in the event of a restructuring of ESBICM (such as the transition from Founder’s Council to Society Council described in the ESBICM Organisational Structure & Standard Operating Procedures), data may transfer to the successor entity for the continued operation of the Service.

We do not share your personal data with advertisers, marketers, data brokers, or any third party for commercial purposes.

8. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy or as required by law:

Membership data is retained for the duration of your membership and for a reasonable period thereafter, in line with ESBICM’s record-keeping obligations.

Discussion Board posts, forum contributions, and educational content you have submitted are generally retained indefinitely as part of ESBICM’s educational archive, even after your membership ends, because they form part of the collective educational resource that benefits the Critical Care community. You may request removal of such content as described in Section 11 below; we will consider such requests in good faith, balanced against the educational value of the content and the integrity of related discussions.

ESBICM may, however, remove or modify retained content at any time where, in the judgment of the ESBICM Office, the content (a) is harmful, unlawful, or in breach of the ESBICM Code of Conduct or these documents; or (b) is materially inconsistent with ESBICM’s mission, values, or current positions. The Executive Committee may review any such decision on its own initiative or on member request. This power is exercised in accordance with Terms §7 (User Content).

Technical and analytics data is retained for shorter operational periods, typically up to twelve months.

Communication data (queries, correspondence) is retained for as long as necessary to address your query and for a reasonable record-keeping period thereafter.

9. Cookies and Similar Technologies

The Service uses cookies and similar technologies to provide essential functionality (such as remembering your login session), to remember your preferences, and to understand how the Service is used so we can improve it.

Some cookies are set directly by ESBICM; others are set by third-party services such as Google reCAPTCHA, embedded YouTube videos, and the XenForo discussion-board platform. The detailed cookie inventory is published at esbicm.org/forums/index.php?help/cookies.

You can manage or delete cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may limit some functionality of the Service.

10. Third-Party Services

The Service incorporates content and features from third parties. Use of these features may involve the collection of data by those third parties under their own privacy policies, separately from this Privacy Policy.

YouTube API Services. The Service uses YouTube API Services to display video content from our official YouTube channel, The ICU Channel, and to enable users to search for videos within that channel. By using our Service, you acknowledge and agree to be bound by the YouTube Terms of Service and the Google Privacy Policy. You can review the YouTube Terms of Service at https://www.youtube.com/t/terms and the Google Privacy Policy at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy.

Google reCAPTCHA. Used to protect forms on the Service from automated abuse. Subject to Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

Gravatar. When you leave a comment on the Service, your email address may be checked against the Gravatar service to display a profile image, if you have one. Gravatar’s privacy policy is available at https://automattic.com/privacy/.

XenForo. The Discussion Board is powered by XenForo software, which sets its own functional cookies as part of normal forum operation.

Embedded content. Articles and pages on the Service may include embedded content (videos, images, articles) from third-party sites. Such embedded content behaves as if you visited the third-party site directly, and those sites may collect data about you, set cookies, and monitor your interactions in accordance with their own policies.

ESBICM does not control these third parties and is not responsible for their privacy practices. We encourage you to review their respective privacy policies.

11. Your Rights

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and other applicable law, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

(a) Right to access — to obtain confirmation of whether we process your data, and to obtain a copy of that data;

(b) Right to correction and update — to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data;

(d) Right to withdraw consent — to withdraw consent previously given, at any time;

(e) Right to grievance redressal — to raise a complaint about how your data has been handled.

To exercise any of these rights, contact the Operations Director, ESBICM Office via esbicm.org/contact-us-esbicm. We will acknowledge your request and respond within a reasonable period, in accordance with applicable law.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may approach the Data Protection Board of India under the procedure set out in the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

12. Security

ESBICM takes reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include access controls, encryption where appropriate, secure hosting, and confidentiality obligations on personnel who handle data.

While we strive to protect your data, no system of electronic storage or transmission can be guaranteed to be entirely secure. In the event of a personal data breach affecting your data, we will notify the Data Protection Board of India and affected users in accordance with applicable law.

13. International Members

ESBICM operates globally and members from many countries use the Service. Where laws of your country (such as the GDPR in the European Economic Area, or the UK GDPR) grant you rights additional to or different from those described above, ESBICM will, where reasonably practicable, honour those rights to the extent applicable to our processing of your data.

Personal data collected through the Service is primarily stored and processed in India. By using the Service, you understand that your data may be processed in India, which may have data-protection laws that differ from those in your country.

14. Changes to This Policy

ESBICM may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services, or applicable law. Material changes will be published prominently on esbicm.org. The “Last updated” date at the top of this document indicates when this Policy was most recently revised. We recommend that you review this Policy periodically to stay informed of any updates. Continued use of the Service after changes are published constitutes your acceptance of the revised Policy.

Acceptance & Contact

Use of the Service constitutes your acceptance of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with this Policy, please do not register or use the Service.

For all data-protection queries, requests, complaints, or to exercise any of the rights described in Section 11, please contact the Operations Director, ESBICM Office via esbicm.org/contact-us-esbicm.