While preparing a business event, what should I keep in mind regarding participants’ personal information?

1. Identify the personal data you will be collecting: It’s important to know what kind of data you will be collecting, including names, email addresses, phone numbers, etc. You should only collect the data you need and ensure it is accurate.

2. Get participants’ consent (B2C) or have a legitimate interest (B2B): You need to obtain explicit consent from participants to collect and process their personal data. This consent should be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous. For legitimate interest, there should be a clear business reason.

3. Keep data secure: You need to ensure that personal data is kept secure and confidential. This includes implementing appropriate technical and organizational measures to prevent unauthorized access, use, or disclosure of the data.

4. Provide participants with access to their data: Participants have the right to access their personal data and request that it be corrected or deleted if it’s inaccurate or no longer needed.

5. Inform participants of their rights: You need to inform participants of their rights under GDPR, including their right to withdraw consent, their right to lodge a complaint, and their right to object to the processing of their data.

6. Have a data protection officer: If your event requires the regular and systematic monitoring of participants’ personal data, you may need to appoint a data protection officer to oversee your compliance with GDPR.

7. Provide privacy notice: You need to provide participants with a privacy notice that outlines how their personal data will be used, who it will be shared with, and how long it will be retained.

By following these guidelines, you can ensure that you are compliant with GDPR and protect participants’ personal information when planning a business event.

Is okay to store participants’ personal information in a spreadsheet?

Storing participants’ personal information in an Excel file or another type of open document is generally not recommended because these types of files can be easily accessed by unauthorized persons and may not have adequate security features to protect personal data.

If you do choose to store personal data in an Excel file, there are several precautions you can take to help ensure the security of the data. For example:

Password-protect the file
You can password-protect the Excel file to prevent unauthorized access. Make sure the password is strong and that it’s not shared with anyone who doesn’t need it.

Restrict access
Only give access to the file to those who need it. You can set user permissions to ensure that only authorized users can access the file.

Encrypt the file
You can use encryption software to encrypt the Excel file so that even if it’s accessed by an unauthorized person, the data will be unreadable.

Keep the file in a secure location
Store the Excel file in a secure location, such as a password-protected folder on a secure server, and ensure that backups of the file are also stored securely.

It’s important to note that these precautions are not foolproof and that using specialized software for storing and managing personal data, such as an event platform like InvitePeople, is a better option for handling sensitive personal information. Ultimately, it’s important to ensure that any personal data you collect is handled in a secure and responsible manner, and in compliance with applicable data protection regulations.