Privacy and security are like Adam and Eve; you can’t talk about one without the other. And these things have been bonded tighter and tighter since the birth of the internet. For now, humanity is under privacy laws such as the EU’s GDPR and the US’s CCPA, and it is widely spread to all the countries worldwide, such as Thailand’s PDPA. These laws apply to all the industries that work with data, especially in the world of events where we have to work with tons of people’s information.
Today, we will talk about what you need to know to ensure that your event complies with these laws. So you can host your event stress-free and be able to focus on other parts to deliver the best experience to your attendees.
• Write Clear Terms and Conditions
• Always Have the Cookie Consent
• Do Not Overshare the Data
• Give Your Attendees the Right to Delete
• Let’s Make Your Event Complies
Before rolling out your online registration web page to the audiences:
• Prepare clear and concise Terms and Conditions.
• Tell the audience what data you are collecting and why.
• Let your audience know how we will collect, keep, and use their information for the event.
There are various details about how to write a good Terms and Conditions. Still, the main concept is to tell the audience that we will only use their data limitedly as informed. For example, the event host will only collect the email address and full name to send the event-related information, not the marketing newsletter that has nothing to do with the event.
Tips: Some services help you create your terms and conditions automatically. If your event is simple for data collection, it can save you time.
Nowadays, websites aren’t just a place to read anymore. People can participate in it. To make the website remember who you are, we need cookies. That’s where cookies play its role. But you need to get approval to let the website collect it. Since the establishment of GDPR, the website must ask its visitors to allow the platform to collect users’ cookies for functioning and marketing purposes.
For now, countless websites offer you a free cookie consent banner. Some come with a paid version with more modification options and a dashboard for analytical purposes.
Be careful when sharing these data internally because sending this information to a non-related department violates the regulations. The rules are simple: collect the data as little as you need, and two, only share it with those who need it.
What about your partners or the sponsors? You also can only if it was said in the terms and conditions (that’s why we suggest you write it clearly and concisely). One interesting use case we often found is making two check boxes below the registration form, one to accept the Terms and Conditions of the event and another one to subscribe to the newsletter from the Sponsors.
With GDPR, the users always have the right to unsubscribe or delete the information they gave to them (full name, email, phone number, and more). So, an account deletion button in your platform is necessary, whether automatically deleted or approved.
Important: There is some data that you always need to keep securely; it’s the transactions, payments, and invoices. Because you will need it for audit and tax purposes, please make it clear when writing the terms and conditions.
The core of the event is to participate with people. In the digital age, protecting their data is a mandatory requirement. By adding these suggestions to your event planning process, you’ll be working on your event stress-free and able to focus on the other parts of your event as much as possible.
Happenn provides the best-in-class event tech solution with high-security standards. All of our features, such as the online registration form, on-site check-in app, survey, mobile application, and so on, are working under the guidance of GDPR (and also the PDPA for our operation in Thailand).
If you want an all-in-one solution for your upcoming event, check out our Products page to learn more about us. Or contact us directly by filling out the form here.
