Privacy Policy

Art Continum Operated by The Akari Group LLC

www.artcontinum.com

Effective Date: 29th of October 2025

Last Updated: 16th of March 2026

1. INTRODUCTION

This Privacy Policy explains how The Akari Group LLC, a Delaware limited liability company doing business as ("d/b/a") Art Continum ("we," "us," "our," "Platform"), collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal information when you use our website and services.

Our Commitment: We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in an open and transparent manner. This Privacy Policy complies with:

EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
Ghana Data Protection Act (Act 843)
Other applicable data protection laws

Contact Information:

Email: privacy@artcontinum.com (or info@artcontinum.com)
Address (US): 1111B S Governors Ave STE 40422, Dover, DE 19904, United States
Address (Ghana): Independence Avenue, Ridge, Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra, Presidential Floor, Accra, Ghana

2. DATA CONTROLLER INFORMATION

Data Controller: The Akari Group LLC

Operating Name: Art Continum

Jurisdiction: Delaware, USA (with operations in Ghana) DPO Contact: privacy@artcontinum.com

The Akari Group LLC operates in Ghana through its affiliated entity The Akari Group Limited (Ghana), which acts as LLC's agent for shipping coordination, local operations, and artist relations. Both entities handle your personal data in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

3. WHAT INFORMATION WE COLLECT

3.1 Information You Provide Directly

Account & Order Information:

Full name
Email address
Phone number
Shipping address (street address, city, state/region, postal code, country)
Billing address (if different from shipping)
Company name (optional)
VAT/Tax number (optional)

Payment Information: Credit/debit card information (processed by third-party payment processors — see Section 7), billing address, and transaction history.

Resale Transaction Information (Exclusive Artist purchases only): If you purchase artwork from an Exclusive Represented Artist and later resell it, you agree to provide resale price, new buyer contact information, date of resale completion, and proof of sale documentation. This information is collected to facilitate the 5% resale royalty payment to the original Artist as specified in our Platform Terms of Service Section 10.6.

Communications: Emails you send us, customer service inquiries, feedback and reviews, and correspondence with artists (if applicable).

We do NOT collect government ID numbers, Social Security numbers, biometric data, health information, or sensitive personal information unless you voluntarily provide it.

3.2 Information Collected Automatically

Technical Information: IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, time zone setting, browser plug-in types, referring/exit pages, date and time stamps, and clickstream data.

Editorial Analytics: Pages viewed (Stories, News, and Inside the Continuum features), time spent on content, reading patterns and engagement metrics, content sections scrolled within Inside the Continuum features, and which curated resources within features attract user interest.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies: Session cookies (essential for checkout), analytics cookies (Google Analytics or similar), and affiliate tracking cookies for Inside the Continuum features (see Section 11.2(D)). We do not use advertising or marketing cookies.

3.3 Affiliate & Commercial Interaction Data

When you interact with Inside the Continuum features that contain affiliate links or curated commercial resources, we may collect the following data to attribute transactions and process affiliate commissions:

Click-through identifiers (UTM parameters) appended to affiliate links
Which curated resources or affiliate links were clicked within a feature
Whether a transaction was completed following an affiliate link click (as reported back to Art Continum by the affiliate platform)
Referral session data used by affiliate platforms to track commission attribution

This data is collected for the purpose of affiliate commission attribution and to improve the relevance of curated resources within Inside the Continuum features. It does not include personal payment or transaction details, which remain with the third-party platform. See Section 6.1(G) for affiliate partners and Section 11.2(D) for cookie information.

3.4 Information from Third Parties

Payment Processors: Transaction confirmation from Stripe, PayPal, and similar processors, and fraud prevention data.

Shipping Carriers: Delivery confirmation and tracking updates from DHL, Ghana Post, UPS, and similar carriers.

Affiliate Platforms: Transaction completion confirmation (not personal payment data) reported back by affiliate platforms when users complete bookings or purchases via Inside the Continuum curated resource links. See Section 6.1(G).

We do NOT purchase data from data brokers or third-party marketing companies.

3.5 Comments & User-Generated Content

Name or display name (publicly visible), comment text (publicly visible), IP address (collected automatically, not publicly visible), and date and time of comment (publicly visible).

IMPORTANT: Comments are PUBLIC and visible to anyone visiting the Platform. Do not include personal information you wish to keep private in your comments.

4. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

4.1 Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

A. Contract Performance (GDPR Article 6(1)(b)): Processing orders and payments, shipping artwork, providing customer service, fulfilling Platform Terms of Service obligations, and administering resale royalty obligations.

B. Legal Obligation (GDPR Article 6(1)(c)): Complying with tax laws, customs and export documentation, fraud prevention, and responding to law enforcement requests.

C. Legitimate Interests (GDPR Article 6(1)(f)): Improving our website and services, analytics and understanding customer behaviour, protecting against fraud and security threats, business administration, maintaining resale royalty records, and attributing affiliate commissions earned through Inside the Continuum features.

D. Consent (GDPR Article 6(1)(a)): Marketing communications (only if you opt-in), non-essential cookies, and affiliate tracking cookies (for EU users).

E. Public Interest / Freedom of Expression (GDPR Article 6(1)(e) / 6(1)(f)): Facilitating community dialogue through comments on editorial content and fostering cultural discourse around African art.

4.2 Specific Purposes

Order Fulfillment: Process your purchase, arrange shipping and delivery, send order confirmations and tracking information, handle returns and refunds, and verify authenticity claims.

Resale Royalty Administration (Exclusive Artist purchases only): Track resale notifications, process 5% royalty payments to original Artists, maintain resale records, and facilitate communication between reselling buyers and original Artists.

Inside the Continuum — Editorial Commerce: Present curated resources relevant to the editorial feature you are reading, attribute affiliate commissions when transactions are completed via curated resource links, improve the quality and relevance of curated resources based on engagement data, and operate Art Continum-produced cultural experiences and event ticketing.

Customer Service: Respond to inquiries, resolve disputes, and provide support.

Legal Compliance: Comply with tax and customs regulations, maintain transaction records, respond to legal requests, and detect and prevent fraud.

Business Operations: Analyse website usage and performance, improve user experience, maintain security, and internal record keeping.

We do NOT sell your personal information to third parties, use your data for marketing without consent, share your information for others' marketing purposes, or use automated decision-making that significantly affects you.

5. HOW LONG WE KEEP YOUR DATA

Data Type	Retention Period	Reason
Order information	7 years	Tax and accounting requirements
Payment records	7 years	Financial record-keeping, fraud prevention
Shipping records	3 years	Dispute resolution, warranty claims
Customer service emails	3 years	Dispute resolution
Marketing consent records	Until withdrawn + 3 years	Legal proof of consent
Website analytics	26 months	Business intelligence
Security logs	12 months	Security and fraud prevention
Comments / UGC	Indefinitely (or until deletion request)	Community dialogue, platform content
Editorial analytics (Stories/News/ITC)	26 months	Content performance analysis
Affiliate tracking data	26 months	Commission attribution, resource optimisation
Resale transaction records	Lifetime of artwork	Perpetual resale royalty obligations

Comment Deletion: While comments are retained indefinitely as part of platform content, you may request deletion of your comments at any time by emailing privacy@artcontinum.com with the specific comment URL or text. We will delete within 30 days unless required to retain for legal purposes.

After Retention Period: Data is securely deleted or anonymised. Backups are overwritten according to our backup schedule. We cannot recover data after deletion.

Legal Holds: We may retain data longer if required by law, legal proceedings, or regulatory investigations.

6. WHO WE SHARE YOUR DATA WITH

6.1 Third-Party Service Providers

We share your personal information with trusted third parties who help us operate our business:

A. Payment Processors: Stripe and PayPal. Purpose: processing credit card payments securely. Data shared: name, email, billing address, payment card information. Location: USA with global operations.

B. Shipping Carriers: DHL Express, Ghana Post, UPS (if applicable). Purpose: delivering your order. Data shared: name, phone, shipping address, order contents.

C. Cloud Hosting & Website: ArtLogic. Purpose: website hosting and operation. Data shared: all information you provide on the website. Location: UK and US.

D. Analytics: Google Analytics (if enabled). Purpose: understanding website usage and improving user experience. Data shared: anonymised usage data, IP addresses. Location: USA.

E. Email Service: Mailchimp and Private Email. Purpose: sending order confirmations and transactional emails. Data shared: email address, name, order details. Location: US.

F. Customer Support: Email and phone. Purpose: managing customer inquiries. Data shared: email correspondence, order information.

6.1(G) Affiliate Partners — Inside the Continuum

Inside the Continuum features may include curated resource links to third-party affiliate platforms. When you click an affiliate link within an Inside the Continuum feature, a tracking identifier (UTM parameter or affiliate cookie) is passed to the third-party platform to attribute any resulting transaction to Art Continum for commission purposes.

Current and anticipated affiliate partners include:

Hotel booking platforms (e.g., Booking.com, Agoda) — data shared: click referral identifier only
Flight booking aggregators (e.g., Skyscanner, Kiwi.com) — data shared: click referral identifier only
Book retailers (e.g., Amazon Associates) — data shared: click referral identifier only
Travel service providers — data shared: click referral identifier only

Art Continum does not share your name, email address, billing information, or any personally identifiable information with affiliate platforms. The referral identifier is a session-level tracking code only. Each affiliate platform has its own privacy policy governing how it handles data from users who arrive via referral links. We recommend reviewing the privacy policy of any third-party platform before completing a transaction.

6.2 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by court orders or subpoenas, law enforcement requests, tax authorities, customs and border control, regulatory investigations, or protection of our legal rights.

6.3 Business Transfers

If Art Continum is sold, merged, or acquired, your personal data may be transferred to the new owner as part of the business assets. We will notify you via email before this occurs.

6.4 Artists

If you purchase artwork, we may share your first name (or chosen display name) and general location (city/country, not full address) with the artist. For Exclusive Artist Resales, we facilitate communication including new buyer contact information, resale price, date of sale, and proof of sale documentation to fulfil the 5% resale royalty obligation. We do NOT share your full contact details with artists unless necessary for commission projects or with your explicit consent.

6.5 No Data Selling

We do NOT sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes. This commitment applies to all data collected, including affiliate interaction data.

7. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

Your data may be processed in the USA (Delaware headquarters), Ghana (Art Continum operations and shipping), and worldwide where our third-party service providers operate.

GDPR Safeguards for EU Customers: When we transfer data from the EU to the USA or Ghana, we use Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the EU Commission, adequacy decisions for countries deemed adequate by the EU, and legitimate business interests to fulfil your order.

Your Rights: You have the right to request information about the safeguards we use for international transfers.

8. YOUR RIGHTS

8.1 Rights for EU Customers (GDPR)

Right to Access (Article 15): Request a copy of all personal data we hold about you
Right to Rectification (Article 16): Correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data
Right to Erasure / "Right to be Forgotten" (Article 17): Request deletion of your personal data, including comments you posted. We balance erasure requests against freedom of expression and public interest for public comments
Right to Restriction of Processing (Article 18): Request we limit how we use your data
Right to Data Portability (Article 20): Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
Right to Object (Article 21): Object to processing based on legitimate interests
Right to Withdraw Consent (Article 7): Withdraw consent for marketing or affiliate tracking cookies at any time
Right to Lodge a Complaint: File a complaint with your local data protection authority

8.2 Rights for California Customers (CCPA)

Right to Know: What personal information we collect, sources, purposes, and third parties we share with
Right to Delete: Request deletion of personal information (subject to legal exceptions)
Right to Opt-Out of Sale: We do NOT sell personal information — no opt-out needed
Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights

8.3 Rights for All Customers

Regardless of location, you can request access to your data, request correction or deletion, opt-out of marketing emails, and contact us with privacy questions.

9. HOW TO EXERCISE YOUR RIGHTS

Email: privacy@artcontinum.com (or info@artcontinum.com) Subject Line: "Data Request - [Your Name]"

Include your full name, email address used for orders, order number (if applicable), specific request (access, deletion, correction, etc.), and proof of identity for security purposes.

Response Times:

GDPR (EU): within 1 month (extendable to 3 months for complex requests)
CCPA (California): within 45 days (extendable to 90 days)
General: we aim to respond within 30 days

Requests are free. We may charge a reasonable fee for excessive or repetitive requests.

10. DATA SECURITY

10.1 Security Measures

Technical Measures: SSL/TLS encryption for data transmission (HTTPS), encrypted storage of payment information via payment processors, secure servers with firewall protection, regular security updates and patches, and access controls and authentication.

Organisational Measures: Limited employee access to personal data on a need-to-know basis, data processing agreements with third-party providers, regular security training for staff, and incident response procedures.

10.2 No Absolute Security

While we take reasonable measures to protect your data, no internet transmission or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security. In case of a breach, we will notify you without undue delay, notify relevant authorities as required by law, and take steps to mitigate harm.

11. COOKIES AND TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES

11.1 What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit our website. They help the website function properly and provide analytics.

11.2 Types of Cookies We Use

A. Essential Cookies (Always Active): Session management (shopping cart, checkout), security and fraud prevention, and load balancing. Legal basis: necessary for contract performance. Cannot be disabled.

B. Analytics Cookies (Optional): Google Analytics (if enabled), website usage statistics, page view tracking, and Stories, News, and Inside the Continuum feature engagement tracking. Legal basis: legitimate interest / consent (EU). Can be disabled via cookie banner.

C. We Do NOT Use: Advertising cookies, social media tracking cookies, cross-site tracking, or third-party marketing cookies.

11.2(D) Affiliate Tracking Cookies

Inside the Continuum features may set affiliate tracking cookies or pass UTM parameters when you click a curated resource link. These cookies serve one purpose: to attribute any resulting transaction on a third-party platform to Art Continum for affiliate commission tracking. They are not advertising cookies and are not used to serve you targeted advertisements.

What they track: Whether you clicked an affiliate link and whether a transaction was completed on the third-party platform
What they do NOT track: Your personal identity, payment information, or browsing behaviour outside the affiliate session
Duration: Typically session-based or up to 30 days, depending on the affiliate platform's tracking window
Legal basis: Consent (EU users) — you may decline affiliate tracking cookies via the cookie banner without affecting your ability to use the Platform
Opt-out: You may decline affiliate tracking cookies via the cookie banner. Declining does not prevent you from clicking curated resource links — it only means the transaction will not be attributed to Art Continum for commission purposes

11.3 Cookie Consent (EU Customers)

When you visit our website, you will see a cookie banner. You can accept or reject optional and affiliate tracking cookies. Essential cookies are always active. You can change your cookie preferences at any time.

11.4 How to Manage Cookies

Chrome: Settings > Privacy and Security > Cookies
Firefox: Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies
Safari: Preferences > Privacy > Cookies
Edge: Settings > Privacy > Cookies
Google Analytics Opt-Out: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

Note: disabling essential cookies may affect website functionality.

11.5 Do Not Track (DNT)

We do not currently respond to "Do Not Track" browser signals, as there is no universal standard. You can manage cookies via browser settings.

12. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY

Our services are not directed to children under 16 years old. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16, market to children, or allow children to create accounts. If we learn that we have collected data from a child under 16, we will delete it immediately. Parents: if you believe your child has provided us with personal information, contact us at privacy@artcontinum.com.

13. MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

Transactional Emails (Cannot Opt-Out): Order confirmations, shipping notifications, resale royalty reminders for Exclusive Artist purchases, and customer service responses. Legal basis: contract performance.

Marketing Emails (Opt-In Only): We will NEVER send marketing emails without your explicit consent. You must opt-in to receive promotions. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking "Unsubscribe" in any marketing email or emailing info@artcontinum.com with "Unsubscribe" in the subject. We will process within 10 business days.

Public Nature of Comments: Your name (or display name) and comment text are publicly visible to anyone visiting the Platform and may be indexed by search engines. Your email address and IP address are not publicly displayed. We recommend using a display name rather than your full legal name.

14. THIRD-PARTY LINKS

Our website may contain links to third-party websites including artist portfolios, social media platforms, and — within Inside the Continuum features — curated commercial resources such as hotel booking platforms, flight aggregators, book retailers, and cultural institutions. We are NOT responsible for the privacy practices of these third-party websites.

Inside the Continuum Curated Resources: Links designated as curated resources within Inside the Continuum features may be affiliate links (see Section 6.1(G) and Section 11.2(D)). Clicking these links may result in an affiliate tracking cookie being set by the third-party platform. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any third-party platform before providing personal information or completing a transaction.

Social Media: If you interact with our social media pages, those platforms' privacy policies apply. We do not control how social media platforms use your data.

15. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date. Material changes will be notified via email if we have your email address. Continued use of the Platform after changes constitutes acceptance.

16. CALIFORNIA "SHINE THE LIGHT" LAW

California residents can request information about personal information shared with third parties for direct marketing purposes. Our Response: We do NOT share personal information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes. No request necessary.

17. NEVADA PRIVACY RIGHTS

Nevada residents can opt-out of the sale of personal information. Our Response: We do NOT sell personal information. No opt-out needed.

18. ACCESSIBILITY

We strive to make our Privacy Policy accessible to all users. If you have difficulty accessing this policy, contact us for assistance in an alternative format.

19. DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Governing Law: This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of Ghana, consistent with our Platform Terms of Service. Privacy disputes are subject to the dispute resolution procedures in our Platform Terms of Service (negotiation, mediation, arbitration in Ghana). EU customers may lodge complaints with their local data protection authority regardless of this clause.

20. CONTACT US

Email: privacy@artcontinum.com (or info@artcontinum.com)

Phone (Ghana): +233 55 138 7800

Phone (US): +1 (302) 257 6061

Mail (US): The Akari Group LLC, 1111B S Governors Ave STE 40422, Dover, DE 19904, United States

Mail (Ghana): Art Continum, Independence Avenue, Ridge, Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra, Presidential Floor, Accra, Ghana

Response Time: We aim to respond to all privacy inquiries within 5 business days.

SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS

Topic	Summary
What we collect	Name, email, address, payment info, technical data, affiliate click data (ITC features), resale transaction data (Exclusive Artists only), public comments
Why we collect	Process orders, ship artwork, provide customer service, administer resale royalties, attribute affiliate commissions
Who we share with	Payment processors, shipping carriers, website host, affiliate platforms (click referral identifiers only) — NOT marketers
Your rights	Access, delete, correct, object (varies by jurisdiction)
How to exercise rights	Email privacy@artcontinum.com
Data retention	3–7 years for transactions; 26 months for analytics/affiliate data; lifetime of artwork for resale records
International transfers	USA ↔ Ghana ↔ Worldwide (with safeguards)
Security	SSL encryption, secure servers, limited access
Children	Not directed to under-16s
Marketing	Opt-in only, easy unsubscribe
Cookies	Essential + optional analytics + optional affiliate tracking (ITC features only)
Public comments	Visible to everyone — use a display name for privacy
Sale of data	NEVER

END OF PRIVACY POLICY

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