We welcome the news this week that the UK data protection laws will be strengthened and brought into line with the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), coming into force May 2018. As a part of the largest live entertainment organisation, any move to recognise the importance of data privacy, increasing trust and confidence, is a good news day for us. We are pleased too to see the Digital Minister’s acknowledgment that the law needs to be “dynamic”, particularly in the context of (i) evolving privacy laws globally, (ii) Europe’s GDPR and (iii) the timing of Brexit negotiations.

We are committed to being GDPR-ready by May 2018 and are updating our processes and systems to ensure that customer data is collected in line with the GDPR requirements. This includes changes to our marketing and analytics products to assist clients in honouring any requests they receive from their customers exercising their rights under the GDPR (for example a request to opt-out of profiling).

This week’s news also coincides with the recent appointment of Hannah Mason (shown below) as our new Senior Vice President of International Data Privacy.

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Prior to her appointment as SVP, International Data Privacy, Hannah worked with Visa, where she led the organisation’s strategy for global privacy compliance and enhancement efforts. Hannah has been named by leaders in the privacy industry as “a name to watch in the data protection world”.

Hannah will be leading a strong international team from London, continuing to strengthen the groups international privacy program and strategy, while steering the ongoing efforts preparing the group for the incoming GDPR. In addition, Hannah and her team will, over the coming months, work closely with the company’s network of clients and partners to continue to define best practices to meet the evolving needs of fans, artists and partners.

If you would like to discuss our approach to data privacy, or our take on how we think others should be preparing too, please contact your Client Marketing Manager or feel free to reach out to Hannah and her team directly at [email protected].