Forum Connect terms of use

These terms apply when you use Forum Connect, our app and website for people at the events Forum Europe runs, including events we run for other organisations. Not every event uses Forum Connect. Forum Connect is run by Forum Europe Ltd, 5 Sovereign Quay, Havannah Street, Cardiff CF10 5SF, company number 05339004.

You must agree to these terms, including the community rules below, before you can post, message or share your profile.

Summary

• Forum Connect is a professional space for people at the events we run
• be respectful – we have zero tolerance for objectionable content and abusive users
• only scan a badge, record or share what others have agreed to
• a sponsor who scans your badge sees what is printed on your badge, and only gets your email address and job title if you agree
• report anything that worries you – we review every report within 24 hours
• if you break these terms, we may remove what you posted and stop you using Forum Connect

Who can use Forum Connect

You can use Forum Connect if you are registered for or speaking at an event we run that uses it, including an event we run for another organisation, or work for us, or for a sponsor or partner of the event. You must be 18 or over. Forum Connect is not designed for children, and we do not let anyone under 18 book our events.

Your account

You sign in with the email you booked with. You must:

• only have one account, and only use it yourself
• use your real name and your real job and organisation
• keep your sign-in links and codes to yourself
• tell us straight away if you think someone else has used your account

Community rules

Forum Connect is a professional space. You must not post, send or share anything that:

• is abusive, threatening, harassing or bullying
• is discriminatory, including on grounds of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or age
• is sexual, violent or otherwise offensive
• encourages violence, terrorism, self-harm or crime
• is false or misleading about you or anyone else
• pretends to be someone else, or another organisation
• shares someone's personal information without their permission
• is spam, advertising or selling, unless you are a sponsor using the tools we give you
• breaks the law or someone else's rights, including copyright
• breaks the Chatham House Rule in a session that follows it – you may use what you hear, but must not say who said it or where they work

You must not:

• contact someone again after they have blocked you, ignored you or asked you to stop
• send large numbers of messages or connection requests
• copy, collect or export other people's details, including with automated tools
• try to get into parts of Forum Connect you are not allowed into, or interfere with how it works

Meeting people

Meetings you arrange through Forum Connect take place at the event, at a table, a meeting point or a place you both agree. People attending online can message and connect, but not meet. Treat it as you would any professional meeting. If someone makes you feel unsafe, leave and tell a member of our staff or the venue's staff. You can also report them in the app.

Scanning badges

Only scan someone's badge when they agree. At badge-only events, a scan connects you both straight away. You can remove a connection at any time.

Recording and sharing

You must not:

• record, film, stream or screenshot sessions, unless we say you can
• share other people's messages, questions or profiles outside Forum Connect without their permission
• share a session summary or captions as if they were an exact record
• share Proceedings files outside Forum Connect, unless we say you can – each copy can be traced to the person who opened it

Sponsors and exhibitors

If you work for a sponsor or exhibitor, you can scan badges and ask delegates to share their email address and job title. Forum Connect asks them first, and they can say no. You must:

• only scan someone's badge with their agreement
• only use the details a delegate shares as they agreed, and as your own privacy notice says
• follow data protection law, including when you email delegates after the event
• not sell or pass on delegates' details to anyone else
• delete a delegate's details if they ask you to
• not message delegates in bulk or contact them again after they say no

Delegates can message your team from your page. Everyone working on your stand sees these messages. You can download the details of delegates who agreed to share them. Treat this file as these rules say.

Your organisation is responsible for how it uses the details delegates share with it.

Your content

You own what you post. You give us permission to show it to the people you choose, and to use it to run the event – for example, to show your question to the moderator. We use questions and poll answers without names to report what the audience thought, as our privacy notice explains.

Only use a photo of yourself for your profile.

How we keep Forum Connect safe

To keep Forum Connect safe:

• in most sessions, a moderator chooses which questions to put to speakers, because time is limited – never because of the views in them
• automated checks, including AI, flag questions, session chat and profile text that may break the rules
• in most cases, flagged content stays visible while a person checks it
• if automated checks find content very likely to be seriously harmful, such as threats or sexual content, it is held until a person checks it
• we never remove posts because they criticise or disagree with anyone, including speakers, governments or Forum Europe
• we do not routinely read private messages – our team only looks at them when someone reports one, to deal with a security problem, or when the law requires it
• when you report something, it is hidden from you straight away, and stays visible to others until we review it
• a person always makes the final decision on removing content or stopping someone using Forum Connect

Reporting

You can report any message, question, chat post or profile, and block anyone, from the app. When you block someone, they cannot message you or ask to meet you, your connection ends and your meetings with them are cancelled. We do not tell them.

Our team reviews every report within 24 hours. We tell you when we have dealt with your report.

At events we run for other organisations, we still run Forum Connect: our team reviews reports and makes the decisions these terms describe.

Reporting illegal content

Anyone can report content they think is illegal, even if they do not use Forum Connect. Email support@forum-connect.com and tell us:

• what the content is and where it is, such as the event, session or person
• why you think it is illegal
• your name and email – you do not need to give these if you are reporting child sexual abuse material
• that you believe what you have told us is accurate and complete

We confirm we have your report, review it within 24 hours, and tell you what we decided and why.

What we do if you break these terms

Depending on what happened, we may:

• remove what you posted
• warn you
• stop you messaging or meeting people
• stop you using Forum Connect for the event
• stop you using Forum Connect and booking any of our events
• cancel your event booking, as our booking terms explain
• tell the police, if someone may be at risk or the law has been broken

If content breaks these rules, we remove it within 24 hours. If someone posts seriously abusive or illegal content, we stop them using Forum Connect.

When we act, we tell you what we did and why, unless the law stops us or it would put someone at risk.

Asking us to look again

If you think we got it wrong, email support@forum-connect.com within 14 days. Someone who was not involved in the first decision will look again and reply within 14 days. If you are in the EU, you can also ask an independent body to settle the dispute without going to court.

Emergencies

Forum Connect is not for emergencies. In an emergency, call the local emergency number or tell the venue's staff.

Our service

We cannot promise Forum Connect will always be available or free of mistakes. We may change, pause or remove features.

Live captions, transcripts, translations and AI summaries are made automatically and can be wrong. Do not rely on them as an exact record.

We are not responsible for what other people post or do, or for how a sponsor uses details you chose to share with them. We are not responsible for losses we could not reasonably have expected when you started using Forum Connect. Nothing in these terms limits our responsibility for anything the law says we cannot limit, such as death or personal injury caused by our negligence.

Apple and Google

If you use the Forum Connect app:

• these terms are between you and Forum Europe Ltd, not Apple or Google
• we give you a licence to use the app on devices you own or control – you cannot transfer it to anyone else
• Forum Connect, its code and its design belong to us – you must not copy, change or reverse-engineer the app
• we, not Apple or Google, are responsible for the app, its support and any claims about it
• if anyone claims the app infringes their intellectual property rights, we, not Apple or Google, deal with that claim
• Apple and Google are not responsible for maintaining or supporting the app
• if the app does not work as it should, you can tell Apple or Google – the app is free, so they have no other responsibility for it
• you must follow the app store's own terms
• you must not use the app where the law does not allow it, including in countries under UK, EU or US sanctions
• Apple and Google can enforce these terms against you

When you stop using Forum Connect

You can stop using Forum Connect at any time. You can delete your data in Profile on iPhone or Account on Android, then Delete my data. Our privacy notice explains what we keep and for how long.

If Forum Connect moves to another company

We may transfer these terms to another company, for example if a new company runs Forum Connect in the future. If we do, your rights under these terms stay the same, and we will tell you in the app.

Changes to these terms

We may change these terms when Forum Connect changes. If a change matters to you, we will tell you in the app before it starts.

The law that applies

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you live elsewhere in the UK or in the EU, you also keep the protections your own country's law gives you.

Contact for regulators and authorities

Regulators and authorities, including Ofcom and EU authorities such as the Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT), can contact us at support@forum-connect.com. We reply in English.

Contact us

Email support@forum-connect.com about Forum Connect, or dpo@forum-europe.com about your data.