There are quite a few questions about the World Data Forum next month. The physical meeting in Switzerland will be postponed to Sunday, 3 – Wednesday, 6 October 2021, and a virtual forum is now planned on the same dates of 19 – 21 October 2020 to “satisfy demand for the latest data solutions and thinking to support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and now more urgently for the monitoring and recovery from COVID-19.”
Last week there was a webinar with an overview of the event:
Inspired by the message of @audreyt (direct link) to a civic tech conference here in the summer, I invite anyone else here to address our community, suggest ways we could cooperate across borders (#OpenDataDay !), or even just send a message of support during what promises to be an intensive week of exchanges.
So I have high expectations for the UN World Data Forum.
What I don’t like much is the terms of service of the online service chosen to host the forum, Attendify. It did not yet have a summary on tosdr.org, so I went ahead and did an assessment of their terms of service and privacy policy (half of those are still pending review).
The good:
The service provides details about what kinds of personal information they collect
The service provides a complaint mechanism for the handling of personal data
You can opt out of promotional communications
Copyright license limited for the purposes of that same service but transferable and sublicenseable
The “neutral”:
Users should revisit the terms periodically, although in case of material changes, the service will notify
This service can delete your content if you violate the terms
This service is only available to users over a certain age
The court of law governing the terms is in location X (California, USA)
Provides instructions on how to submit a copyright claim
The service has a no refund policy
There is a date of the last update of the terms
The bad:
This service assumes no liability for unauthorized access to your personal information
The service may keep a secure, anonymized record of users’ data for analytical purposes even after the data retention period
This service may keep personal data after a request for erasure for business interests or legal obligations
This service ignores the Do Not Track (DNT) header and tracks users anyway even if they set this header.
This service may use your personal information for marketing purposes
This service tracks you on other websites
The service may use tracking pixels, web beacons, browser fingerprinting, and/or device fingerprinting on users.
Your personal data is given to third parties
You waive your right to a class action.
This service forces users into binding arbitration in the case of disputes
Any liability on behalf of the service is only limited to the fees you paid as a user
This service assumes no liability for any losses or damages resulting from any matter relating to the service
The service is provided ‘as is’ and to be used at the users’ sole risk
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold the service harmless in case of a claim related to your use of the service
Users cannot scrape the website of the service
Third parties may be involved in operating the service
Terms may be changed any time at their discretion, without notice to the user
This service forces users into binding arbitration in the case of disputes
The ugly:
The service can delete specific content without reason and may do it without prior notice
