Last month ArsTechnica caught Eventbrite sneaking in some new Terms of Service, these new terms were giving Eventbrite permission to sue your event if you used Eventbrite to organize your event.
Earlier this month we made an update to our Terms of Service and Merchant Agreement that would allow us the option to work with individual organizers to secure video and photos at their events for marketing and promotional purposes. We’ve heard some concerns from our customers and agree that the language of the terms went broader than necessary given our intention of the clause.
We have not recorded any footage at events since this clause was added, and upon further review, have removed it entirely from both our Terms of Service and Merchant Agreement. We sincerely apologize for any concern this caused.
But why were these terms introduced? Was it only for marketing and promo purposes? Were they planning a new advertising campaign? Could this be a sign that Eventbrite is running out of marketing ideas?
ArsTechnica said it best:
The promotional content clause is a common request from many event organizers, who often include such language in their agreement terms for attendees specifically for the creation of marketing materials. But Eventbrite appears to have followed some technology services firms’ extremely aggressive moves to stake out intellectual property rights to their customers’ experiences.
