In May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was introduced into the European Union. An update from the 1995 Data Protection Directive, the GDPR strengthens the ability to protect the privacy and personal data of European citizens. This is especially considering the technological advances that allow personal data to be collected in the corporate event industry.
Considering that the event industry relies very heavily on retrieving personal data from attendees, this introduction has had an enormous effect on how Australians organise events. However, since the GDPR concerns only European citizens, it’s important to understand its relevance to Australia as well. The GDPR protects European citizens, no matter where in the world they live or attend events.
In fact, a significant factor of the GDPR is its geographical spread. The regulation applies not only to events held within the European Union, but also to events held in other parts of the world, where European citizens may attend.
Therefore, a country as multicultural and tourist-friendly as Australia should be deeply concerned about the rights of such citizens. To be safe, you should simply assume that it is more than likely that at least one European citizen will attend your corporate event.
As an event planner, or a business working with planners to coordinate corporate events, here are the key things to consider with the introduction of the GDPR.
Consent is Everything
The most significant way to abide by the regulation is to transparently ask attendees for consent to their personal data. Events rely on data collection for a number of reasons, including protecting attendees, generating a database of leads, and measuring the success of the event. So, it is inevitable to run an event without collecting data, and your attendees understand this. However, it’s important to consider the courtesy of clearly asking for consent for their personal data.
Personal data refers to any information that can identify someone, both directly and indirectly. This includes a name, photo, DOB, bank details or even social media posts (linked to personal accounts). Corporate events often collect their attendees data through registration forms, surveys, and event mobile apps.
The GDPR demands that consent is clearly requested on these forms, so that no attendee is confused about signing away their consent. According to the regulation, “it must be as easy to withdraw consent as it is to give it.” In fact, the GDPR prohibits long or illegible words to avoid any confusion.
Abiding by this rule saves hassle and allows corporate event planners to be on the same page as their attendees. Consider how you are going to ask for consent. A simple way to do so is to ensure your online registration form does not tick a box by default to enable an attendee to be added to your mailing list. Instead, it should be left open to the attendee to tick, should they choose to. In other words, transparency is very important.
A Citizen’s Right
Not only should you consider your obligation to gain consent, the GDPR also demands that you understand your attendee’s rights as a European citizen. Known as the Right to be Forgotten, or more formally, Data Erasure, attendees have the right to request that their data be removed from a database to avoid its spread to third parties.
An attendee should also be informed of what is happening with their personal data, where it is being processed and for what purpose. Upon request, it is the duty of the corporate event planner, or the business hosting the event, to comply, without asking questions.
A Corporate Event Planner’s Responsibility
A corporate event planner’s responsibility includes fully understanding the regulation and the factors involved. This includes understanding penalties, and the seriousness of a breached regulation. Should the regulation be breached, a fine of either 4% of the businesses annual global turnover or €20 million will be issued – whichever works out to be more expensive.
The corporate event planner must have both the business’ and the attendee’s best interests at heart.
At End2End Events, we work with you to understand your objectives to organise corporate events. To enquire about our event production services, call us on 1300 095 123 or email us at info@end2endevents.com.au.
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