Achieving Data and Legal Compliance in the Event Industry - insideBIGDATA

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We’re living in a world that generates more than 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day. With data changing hands faster than ever before in today’s increasingly hybrid world, we’re all forced to keep up. 

Event organizers mustkeep data security and legal compliance top of mind. Why? The digital age’s currency isdata. Having sensitive data fall into the wrong hands destroys partnerships, damages reputations and dissolves trust.

Event organizers use data to inform every stage of event planning, from developing communications strategies to tweaking session topics and providing updates on an attendee’s journey through the pipeline. The data most accessed by event planners include:

Hybrid and virtual events are here to stay — and with the vast amounts of information generated by participants logging in and creating a traceable presence, event planners must balance the risks and treat that information with the utmost care and confidentiality.

Countries worldwide are already developing and implementing security laws and regulations to tighten security and protect sensitive data. 

The GDPR, a centralized policy enacted in 2018, dictates how businesses, governments and organizations store and use EU citizens’ and residents’ personal data, giving them the right to request that a business:

The GDPR also requires people to actively opt-in to give businesses permission to use their personal data. In the event world, organizers must not only obtain attendees’ permission to collect data but also explain how that data will be used and with whom it will be shared. 

Because attendees can request copies of the collected data — and also request the transfer of that data to other third parties — event planners should use a machine-readable, common format. Thoroughly understanding GDPR will help organizations safely and ethically handle data, with guidelines planners should use to ensure security and compliance.

Unlike the EU, the US doesn’t have a single, overarching federal data privacy law, although many states are enacting comprehensive consumer data privacy laws at their level. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), however, is the best comparison to GDPR. 

The main difference between the two is that CCPA lacks the opt-in requirement of the GDPR, only requiring a privacy notice on any electronic form where users input data. The CCPA also doesn’t allow consumers to update or correct their information. However, the CCPA does:

Marketing teams and event planners rely on data to develop and deliver exceptional event experiences. The following best practices will help ensure data security, privacy and compliance:

Another critical consideration: selecting an event management platform that prioritizes data security and ensures you meet all legal requirements. The right event management partner will:

Events offer a powerful tool for companies, generating purposeful, measurable data for targeting customers, establishing relationships, building brand recognition, and so much more. It’s imperative that event planners and marketing teams take every precaution to comply with regulations and laws governing data privacy to protect sensitive information.

Devin Clearly is the VP of Global Events at Bizzabo, the fast-growing event technology platform for hybrid, virtual and in-person events. Devin is a passionate, results-driven event producer and marketing executive with experience leading the creation and active management of diverse experiential marketing programs for B2B, nonprofit and consumer markets. Devin was recognized as one of Connect Association’s “40 under 40” leaders in 2021. He was also featured in Event Marketer’s 2017 “B2B Dream Team” and BostInno’s “50 on Fire.”

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