Acrotrend MD says new data legislation will change the events industry as we know it

Acrotrend, a globally-operating customer insight and analytics consultancy with clients including UBM, Reed Exhibitions, BNP Paribas, Nuffield Health and Cancer Research UK, says new data legislation coming into force in 2018 means event companies must change the way they manage internal and third-party data or face tough penalties for non-compliance. 

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into effect on 25th May 2018 and constitutes the biggest change to the data protection regime in the EU since the 1995 Data Protection Directive. It will change how we arrange, market, attend and follow-up events.

Any organisation collecting and processing data on European citizens falls under the new regulation.  Event companies hosting events in Europe or with events hosting European citizens, regardless of where they are taking place, will need to adhere to the GDPR.

Acrotrend’s Managing Director, Sandeep Mendiratta, says: “Data is the key to successful conferences and events, therefore these new data regulations will change the events industry as we know it and have a large impact on event organisers.

“With under a year to go until the regulations come into force it is important for businesses to have a solid data strategy to ensure they remain complaint and to avoid fines of up to 20m Euros or four per cent of their global annual turnover.”

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