Data & Compliance

1. GDPR Overview

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a comprehensive data protection law that applies to all individuals within the European Union and European Economic Area. Even though TECH COMPETENCE INSTITUTE is based in Nigeria, we are committed to respecting the rights of all our users including those in the EU.

2. Our Legal Basis for Processing

Under GDPR, we must have a valid legal basis for processing your personal data. We rely on the following legal bases:

• Contract Performance: Processing your name, email, and exam records is necessary to provide you with our certification services
• Legitimate Interests: We process certain data to improve our platform, prevent fraud, and maintain security
• Legal Obligation: We may process data where required by applicable law
• Consent: Where we rely on consent, such as for optional profile information, you can withdraw it at any time

3. Your GDPR Rights

As an EU resident, you have the following rights under GDPR:

• Right to Access (Article 15): You can request a copy of all personal data we hold about you. We will respond within 30 days.
• Right to Rectification (Article 16): You can request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data at any time.
• Right to Erasure / Right to be Forgotten (Article 17): You can request deletion of your personal data. Note that certificate verification records may be retained for legal and integrity purposes.
• Right to Restrict Processing (Article 18): You can request that we limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to Data Portability (Article 20): You can request your data in a structured, machine-readable format (JSON).
• Right to Object (Article 21): You can object to processing of your data for legitimate interests.
• Rights Related to Automated Decision Making (Article 22): Our exam scoring is automated but follows transparent, objective rules with no profiling or discrimination.

To exercise any GDPR right, email us at gdpr@knowledgebase.com with the subject line "GDPR Request" and your registered email address. We will respond within 30 days as required by law.

4. Data Transfers

Your data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside the EU including Nigeria (our primary location), the United States (Cloudinary, MongoDB Atlas), and other countries where our service providers operate.

We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place for such transfers including relying on service providers who maintain Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent protections.

5. Data Protection Officer

Given the scale of our current operations, we have not appointed a formal Data Protection Officer. However, all data protection enquiries can be directed to our privacy team at gdpr@knowledgebase.com

6. Right to Lodge a Complaint

If you are an EU resident and believe we have not handled your data in accordance with GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. We encourage you to contact us first so we can attempt to resolve your concern directly.

7. CCPA Overview

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) gives California residents specific rights regarding their personal information. If you are a California resident, this section applies to you in addition to our general Privacy Policy.

8. Categories of Personal Information We Collect

Under CCPA, we disclose the following categories of personal information we collect:

• Identifiers: Name, email address, unique user ID
• Personal Records: Phone number, profile photo (if provided)
• Commercial Information: Payment transaction references and amounts
• Internet Activity: Login timestamps, exam attempt records
• Professional Information: Certificates earned and courses completed

9. How We Use Personal Information

We use personal information for the following business purposes:

• Providing and improving our certification services
• Processing payments and issuing certificates
• Sending account and exam-related communications
• Fraud prevention and platform security
• Complying with legal obligations

10. Your CCPA Rights

As a California resident, you have the following rights:

• Right to Know: You can request information about the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you in the past 12 months
• Right to Delete: You can request deletion of personal information we have collected, subject to certain exceptions
• Right to Opt-Out of Sale: TECH COMPETENCE INSTITUTE does not sell personal information. This right is therefore not applicable as we have no personal data sale to opt out of
• Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your CCPA rights. You will receive the same quality of service regardless of whether you exercise your privacy rights

11. Submitting a CCPA Request

To submit a CCPA request, please contact us using one of the following methods:

We will verify your identity before processing any request to protect your security.

12. Data Processors We Use

We use the following third-party services to operate our platform. Each has been selected for their commitment to data security and compliance:

• MongoDB Atlas — Database hosting. Data stored in secure cloud clusters with encryption at rest and in transit
• Cloudinary — Image and PDF storage. Secure cloud storage with access controls
• Paystack — Payment processing. PCI-DSS compliant payment infrastructure. We never store card details
• Render — Backend hosting. SOC 2 compliant infrastructure
• Vercel — Frontend hosting. SOC 2 compliant infrastructure with global CDN

13. Data Breach Response

In the event of a data breach that affects your personal information, TECH COMPETENCE INSTITUTE will:

• Notify affected users within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach (as required by GDPR)
• Notify the relevant supervisory authority where required by law
• Provide details of what data was affected and what steps we are taking to address the breach
• Take immediate action to contain and remediate the breach

14. Contact for Data Requests

For all data protection, GDPR, and CCPA related enquiries: