Privacy notice: European 5G Observatory

Privacy notice relating to registration and participation in the European 5G Observatory online event taking place on 23 June 2026

Schuman Associates, acting in its role as part of the Secretariat of the European 5G Observatory, an EU-funded project of the European Commission, will process your personal data for the purposes of managing your registration for, and participation in, this online event; communicating with registered participants; understanding audience composition and stakeholder interest in the event topic; and preparing event-related reporting and follow-up materials. This may include processing information such as your organisation, job title and the country, countries or regions relevant to your work.

For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Schuman Associates is the controller for the personal data collected through this registration process, unless otherwise stated. IDATE, also a member of the Secretariat, may support the organisation and delivery of the event. The European Commission may receive relevant registration and participation information in connection with the management, reporting and oversight of the European 5G Observatory project. Where the European Commission processes personal data in connection with the event or the European 5G Observatory project, its processing will be governed by its own applicable data protection rules and privacy notices.

1. What personal data we collect

We may collect and process the following personal data:

• your name, job title, organisation and professional contact details;
• information about your organisation, the country, countries or regions covered by your work, and your professional interest in the event topic;
• any registration information you provide, including your areas of interest or questions submitted in advance;
• technical and participation data generated through the online event platform, such as attendance status, login time, display name, chat messages, Q&A contributions and similar event interaction data;
• your image, voice and any contributions you make during the event, where you appear, speak or otherwise contribute during the event.

We ask participants not to submit unnecessary personal data or sensitive personal data during registration, chat, Q&A or discussion sessions.

2. Why we process your personal data

Your personal data will be processed for the following purposes:

• to register you for the event and manage attendance;
• to send you practical information about the event, including access details, agenda updates and follow-up materials;
• to understand audience composition and stakeholder interest in the event topic;
• to operate and moderate the event, including Q&A and participant interaction;
• to prepare event reports, summaries and related project outputs for the European 5G Observatory;
• to share relevant event information with the European Commission and participants;
• to document the event through audio and video recording;
• where necessary, to make the event recording available online after the event for people who were unable to attend live.

3. Legal basis for processing

We process registration and participation data because it is necessary for the organisation and management of the event and for the performance of tasks connected to the European 5G Observatory project.

Where applicable, the legal bases under Article 6 GDPR are:

• Article 6(1)(b) – processing necessary to manage your registration and participation in the event;
• Article 6(1)(f) – processing necessary for Schuman Associates’ and the project partners’ legitimate interests in organising, documenting, reporting on and communicating about the event;
• Article 6(1)(c) – where processing is necessary to comply with legal or contractual obligations connected to the EU-funded project.

4. Event recording

The event will be recorded, including audio, video and screen-shared content. The recording may capture your name, image, voice, questions, comments or other contributions.

The recording will primarily be used to prepare event reports and related outputs, which may be shared with the European Commission, project partners and event participants. The recording is not currently expected to be published online. However, it may be made available online after the event if this is requested or required in connection with the European 5G Observatory project, for example to allow people who were unable to attend live to watch the event afterwards.

By joining the event, you acknowledge that recording will take place. If you turn on your camera, speak during the event, or submit comments or questions through the chat or Q&A functions, your image, voice, name and/or contributions may be captured in the recording and used for the purposes described in this notice. If you do not wish your image or voice to appear in the recording, you may keep your camera switched off, refrain from speaking during the recorded session, and use the written chat or Q&A functions where available. You may also contact us before the event if you have specific concerns.

5. Who we share your data with

We may share relevant personal data with:

• IDATE, as a partner in the organisation and delivery of the event;
• the European Commission, in connection with the management, reporting and oversight of the European 5G Observatory project;
• event participants, where your questions, comments or other contributions are visible during the event or included in event reports or follow-up materials;
• service providers, such as online event platforms, registration tools, email and office software providers, cloud storage providers, IT support providers, or contractors supporting the event, where necessary and subject to appropriate safeguards.

We will not sell your personal data or use it for unrelated commercial marketing purposes.

6. Tools, service providers, security and international transfers

We use selected third-party service providers to organise and deliver the event, manage registrations, communicate with participants, and prepare event-related materials. These may include online event platforms, registration tools, email and office software providers, cloud storage providers, and IT support providers.

Schuman Associates stores and manages personal data on secure IT systems. Information held on Schuman Associates’ own systems is kept securely and confidentially behind firewall-protected systems. Schuman Associates’ IT provider, Connectis, provides secure private cloud services located in Belgium and guarantees that data hosted on those systems is not stored outside the EU.

Schuman Associates implements appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to prevent personal data from being accidentally lost, used, altered, disclosed or accessed without authorisation.

Wherever possible, we will use services and settings that allow personal data to be hosted and processed within the European Economic Area. Some service providers or their sub-processors may process personal data outside the European Economic Area. Where this happens, any transfer of personal data will take place only where permitted under Chapter V of the GDPR.

These providers will process personal data only for the purposes described in this notice and, where they act as processors, subject to appropriate contractual arrangements.

7. How long we keep your data

We will keep your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described above.

As a general rule:

• registration and attendance data will be retained for the period necessary to manage the event, complete reporting obligations and comply with project audit or contractual requirements;
• event recordings will be retained only for as long as necessary for reporting, communication and project documentation purposes;
• where a recording or report is published online, it may remain available for the duration of the project communication activity, unless earlier removal is required or appropriate.

8. Your rights

Subject to the conditions and limitations set out in GDPR, you have the right to request access to your personal data, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, objection to processing based on legitimate interests, and data portability where applicable.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a competent data protection supervisory authority.

9. Contact

For questions about this privacy notice or to exercise your rights, please contact:

Schuman Associates
Rue Archimède 5, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgique
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For questions relating to the European Commission’s own processing of personal data, you may consult the European Commission’s information on the protection of personal data.