Tomorrowland screens all 2017 ticket buyers, denies access to 38 for “security reasons”

Tomorrowland 2017 has denied access to 38 ticket buyers for yet-to-be disclosed “security reasons”. The Boom-based festival screened all 400,000 ticket holders and staff with the assistance of the Belgian federal police.

The federal police have yet to release the criteria used to block attendance; however, it has been noted that none were rejected for prior drug offenses.

Due to that lack of transparency, the denied have filed a complaint with the Belgian Privacy Commission. As detailed by Belgian publication De Standaard, that commission is now investigating the process in which federal police screened the provided data and make final security assessments.  While all ticket buyers do agree to have data like their name and address collected by the festival’s organizers at the time of purchase, the commission’s investigation seeks to ensure the prospective attendees’ rights were not mistreated by the process.

The federal police’s defence, as told to De Standaard by spokesperson Peter De Waele, rests on the permission granted by the mayors of Boom and Rumst to complete the checks.  

According to a Tomorrowland representative, via Billboard, attendee data had been shared with local authorities for the prior six years and this is not the first time a potential buyer has been denied. It is the first time a complaint has been brought to the Privacy Commission. The representative also clarified the festival is not itself a target of the investigation.  

Tomorrowland, one of DJ Mag’s picks for “the continent’s best festivals”, runs 27th through 30th July. Explore the set times and conflicts here.