Job Applicant Privacy Notice

Last Updated: June 3, 2020

As part of any recruitment process, SoundHound Inc. collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants. The organization is committed to being transparent about how it collects and uses that data and to meeting its data protection obligations.

What information do we collect?

We collect the following categories of personal information:

• Identifiers such as name, parents’ surnames prior to marriage, alias, telephone number, personal and work email address, postal address, screennames, usernames, date of birth, signature, passport number, driver’s license or state identification card number.
• Financial information such as bank account numbers for payroll and expenses.
• Audio, electronic, visual, or thermal information such as recorded voicemails and photographic images submitted, and temperature checks.
• Professional or employment-related information such as Curriculum Vitae/resumé, current and previous employment details, immigration status, or work authorizations.
• Education information such as education background, university or school diplomas/certificates, and other educational achievements.
• Internet or other electronic network activity information, such all documents, files, and information you send through our applicant portal.
• Inferences such as job preferences or willingness to travel and/or relocate.

SoundHound Inc. may collect this information in a variety of ways. For example, data might be contained in application forms, CVs or resumes, obtained from your passport or other identity documents or collected through interviews or other forms of assessment.

We may also collect personal data about you from third parties, such as background checks and references supplied by former employers. We will seek information from third parties only once a job offer to you has been made and will inform you that we are doing so.

Data will be stored in a range of different places, including your application record, HR management systems, and other IT systems (including email).

In addition, where relevant to the recruitment process, including where necessary to accommodate any disability needs or to comply with some regulatory requirements, we may also have the need to process some characteristics of protected classifications. This may include:

• Race, color
• Ancestry, citizenship status, national origin (including languages used and proficiency)
• Religion, creed, political affiliations or activities
• Age (40 and above)
• Disability, mental and physical
• Sex, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical conditions)
• Sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression
• Medical condition, AIDS/HIV status
• Genetic information
• Marital status
• Military and veteran status
• Criminal records, in certain circumstances
• Victims of domestic abuse and/or assault/stalking

How do we use your personal information?

We will use your personal information for the following purposes:

1. To process your application including to identify and contact you;
2. To determine whether you have the professional skills, expertise and experience for the position applied for;
3. If you are offered a position with us, to verify the personal information provided including your identity, address, right to work, employment history and academic background and other background screening purposes including, where allowed by law, criminal record checks, searches with a credit reference agency and sanctions screening checks;
4. To provide you with information about future job vacancies, if you would like us to send you such notifications, which may include using data analytics to match your profile against vacant positions;
5. For the limited purpose of evaluating the risk that an applicant’s presence poses to others in the workplace as a result of a virus, such as COVID-19 pandemic, or other infectious conditions;
6. To accommodate your disability needs;
7. To detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity; or prosecute those responsible for that activity; and,
8. For compliance, disciplinary, legal and regulatory purposes.

We may collect additional categories of personal information for other business-related purposes and/or use personal information collected for additional purposes, upon prior written notice to you.  

What are our lawful bases for processing data (EEA and UK only)?

We process your personal data for the above purposes based on the following legal bases:

• Our legitimate interest in recruiting candidates for open positions;
• Necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract;
• Necessary for compliance with a legal obligation (e.g. work authorization or reporting obligations);
• Consent you provide where we do not rely on another legal basis. Consent may be withdrawn at any time.

Who has access to data?

Your information may be shared internally for the purposes of the recruitment process. This includes members of the HR and recruitment team, interviewers involved in the recruitment process, managers in the business area with a vacancy, and IT staff if access to the data is necessary for the performance of their roles.

We will not share your data with third parties unless your application for employment is successful and we make you an offer of employment. We will then share your data with former employers to obtain references for you, and employment background check providers to obtain necessary background checks.

How do we protect your data?

We take the security of your data seriously. We have internal policies and controls in place to ensure that your data is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed, and is not accessed except by our employees in the proper performance of their duties.

For how long does SoundHound Inc. keep data?

If your application for employment is unsuccessful, the organization will hold your data on file for 24 (twenty-four) months after the end of the relevant recruitment process. At the end of that period, or upon your request, your data is deleted or destroyed.

If your application for employment is successful, personal data gathered during the recruitment process will be transferred to your Human Resources file (electronic and paper-based) and retained during your employment.

Upon your separation of employment with the organization, your personal information shall be retained and destroyed according to our document retention policy and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

 What are your rights?

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Rights

Starting January 1, 2020, Californians have new privacy rights to their personal information. Businesses are required to inform members of the categories of personal information they collect and the purposes for which the categories will be used, at or before the point of collection.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Rights

As a data subject in the European Economic Area or the UK, you have a number of rights. You can:  

• access and obtain a copy of your data on request
• require the organization to change incorrect or incomplete data
• require the organization to delete or stop processing your data
• object to the processing of your data where SoundHound, Inc. is relying on its legitimate interests as the legal ground for processing

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact [email protected].

If you believe that the organization has not complied with your data protection rights, you can complain to the Information Commissioner.

Changes to the Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy is effective as of the date noted above. We may update this Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will post the updated Policy on this page and change the date at the top. We encourage you to review updates by checking the date referenced above.

Contact Information

We welcome your questions, comments, and concerns about privacy. You may contact [email protected] for any additional questions.

What if you do not provide personal data?

You are under no statutory or contractual obligation to provide data to SoundHound Inc. during the recruitment process. However, if you do not provide the information, we may not be able to process your application properly or at all.