GAA ‘leading from front’ on WhatsApp

The GAA are “on the money” in advising clubs against using WhatsApp for official purposes, according to Clubforce chief marketing officer Paul Madden.

GAA ‘leading from front’ on WhatsApp

The GAA are “on the money” in advising clubs against using WhatsApp for official purposes, according to Clubforce chief marketing officer Paul Madden.

In a statement released today, the GAA reminded clubs of their obligation “to ensure and promote compliance with data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act”.

Madden, part of the team behind the Clubforce app, which stands as a viable alternative for GAA units faced with the headache of finding a GDPR compliant channel, says WhatsApp, as a communications tool for clubs, “isn’t fit for purpose”.

“WhatsApp is a fabulous product. You use it for family and friends, but it is not designed for organisation member communication, which in this instance is sports organisations and clubs.

“If you think of your U10 training group, there might be 50 parents in that group. The step of asking for permission to share their number and their profile photo on WhatsApp with other members of that group, that step is missing,” Madden explained.

GAA club administrators and coaches, who are all volunteers, are doing this work in their spare time, while also trying to act as responsibly as they can in their roles.

“They need the tools to allow them to fulfil those roles without having to worry about whether a [communications] tool ticks regulatory boxes.”

Madden has credited the GAA as being ahead of the curve in making sure its units are GDPR compliant.

“What we’ve seen in the papers the last day or two, this isn’t a new directive from the GAA.

“They mandated this in 2018. They do lead from the front when it comes to sports administration.”

The GAA are currently in the process of creating their own communications app. The organisation’s chief information officer Tomás Meehan has said it would be “like WhatsApp but not like WhatsApp, in that it’s controlled and there won’t be chatter”.

Clubforce, meanwhile, is an all-in-one sports club management platform that allows clubs to communicate with their members without it being an open forum.

“If you download the app, create an account, find your club, and then go to the group section of your club, you can select which communications group you wish to join.

“That notification will then go to a club administrator. That club administrator will verify that person is a member of the club and let them join said communications group.

“The club maintains control over who has access to the group and who moderates the group.”

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