What Exactly Is a DPO?
The Data Protection Officer, or DPO, is responsible for ensuring that companies handle personal data properly and in compliance with the law.
Under the GDPR, organizations with core data processing activities requiring regular and systematic monitoring of EU data subjects on a large scale or which process sensitive data on a large scale are required to designate a DPO. To understand why appointing a DPO is a good thing even if you are not legally required to, read our article.
What is a DPO
The DPO is the person responsible for making sure that organizations handle personal data properly and in compliance with the law. Under the GDPR, the designation of a DPO is mandatory if your company’s core activities consist of data processing operations which require the regular and systematic monitoring of data subjects in the EU on a large scale, or if it processes sensitive data on a large scale. A DPO is not a CPO (Chief Privacy Officer) or a Privacy Officer. While the appointment of a CPO or Privacy Officer is not, in most cases, required by law, the appointment of a DPO is a legal requirement in certain situations (see below) and the DPO’s role and responsibilities are set out with a certain degree of specificity under the law. For more information on the roles and responsibilities of a DPO read our article.
Although the function of a DPO initially originates from Europe, the concept of a DPO has now become an industry norm internationally. The DPO does not have to be based in the EU, however they must have expertise in EU data protection laws and practices and be able to communicate effectively with both EU data subjects and the relevant EU data protection authorities. For more information on why a EU-qualified privacy lawyer is ideally placed to act as your DPO read our article.
Privacy laws are becoming more and more complex. They are a mix of federal, state, provincial, national, sectoral-based, and sometimes even regional laws.
Let’s take the EU as an example. EU data protection law is a combination of the GDPR alongside the rules prescribed by the national legislations of the 27 national EU member states. A number of these legislations are only available in foreign languages, and they cover more than 50 areas of the law – the “national derogations” – that are not covered by the GDPR. For more on this read our article.
In addition, the EU privacy legal and regulatory landscape consists of a number of EU Directives that set the baseline for the legal principles for the area of law that they regulate and which have to be interpreted alongside EU in-country laws and regulations. This means that if your company collects the data of residents of several EU member states, it has to ensure that it complies with the law of each and every country from which it collects the data. For more information on the importance of hiring EU counsel to advise on EU law, including GDPR, read our article.
For more information on why privacy laws are so complex to understand read our article.
To help you navigate the GDPR terminology please read our GDPR Glossary of Terms.
Externalized DPO services are typically provided in the U.S. or Canada by either ...
- U.S. or CANADIAN LAW FIRMS with expertise in U.S. or Canadian privacy laws but which have no foreign legal qualification or practical experience as international privacy lawyers. For more information on why you need a EU and UK qualified privacy lawyer to advise on UK and EU data protection laws, please read our article.
- SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS PROVIDERS that help companies automate their privacy compliance. These service providers are rarely lawyers and would not give you a seal of legal compliance with privacy and data protection laws and regulations
Our Enhanced DPO Services
At The Transatlantic Lawyer, we provide externalized “enhanced” DPO services that are designed to meet the needs of organizations with activities and data processing operations on both sides of the Atlantic. Our legal qualifications and expertise in both European and U.S/Canadian privacy and data protection laws and regulations, together with our many years experience acting as in-house and external DPO for companies with multinational operations, enable us to take a holistic approach to personal data protection. We work closely with our clients to ensure that their data processing operations comply with the applicable laws and regulations in both Europe and North America. For more information on our expertise as international privacy lawyers please check our GDPR page.
Our Methodology
Inform and advise your organization about your obligations under the GDPR and any other applicable data protection laws and regulations;
Inform your organization of any failures to comply and of any remedial measures to be undertaken;
Recommend and ensure that appropriate measures are implemented to enable you to demonstrate that processing activities are carried out in accordance with the law and, if needed, reassess and update such measures;
Recommend and ensure the appropriate implementation of privacy by default and privacy by design principles in all your projects involving a data processing activity;
Examine and monitor compliance with the GDPR and any other applicable data protection laws and regulations;
Monitor your strategies for the protection of personal data, including the allocation of responsibilities, awareness-raising and training of staff involved in processing operations and related verification;
On request, advise in connection with data protection impact assessments (DPIAs) and their implementations as well as transfer impact assessments (TIAs), as required under the GDPR. This involves evaluating the potential risks associated with processing personal data and assessing the measures in place to mitigate these risks;
Cooperate with EU supervisory authorities and other national data protection authorities;
Act as a contact point for regulators on issues related to data processing, including prior consultation on data protection impact assessments pursuant to Article 35 GDPR and, where appropriate, advise on all related issues;
Maintain or facilitate the maintenance of your registers of processing activities;
Act as a contact point for the exercise of data subjects’ rights under the applicable laws and for addressing their inquiries related to data processing activities;
Perform an annual report of our DPO activities.
Some of Our DPO Service Deliverables
Data mapping involves creating a detailed inventory of all personal data that your organization processes, including its sources, purposes and any third-party recipients.
By conducting a data mapping exercise, we can assess your compliance with GDPR/other relevant data protection laws requirements and identify potential risks to individuals’ privacy and other fundamental
rights.
With this information, we can recommend appropriate measures to mitigate risks ensuring that you process personal data in a manner that is lawful, fair and transparent.
Data mapping is a critical first step in developing a robust data protection strategy that meets all applicable data protection legal standards.
The register of data processing activities is a comprehensive record of all data processing activities, including the purposes for which personal data is processed, the categories of data
subjects and any third-party recipients of personal data.
The register allows us to ensure your compliance with GDPR requirements and provides transparency for individuals regarding how their personal data is being used.
Additionally, it helps identify potential risks to individuals’ privacy and other fundamental rights and allows us to recommend measures to mitigate those risks. Keeping a register of personal data processing activities is an essential part of any data protection strategy and is required by the GDPR.
A GDPR compliant external privacy policy will identify the following elements:
– how it will be used and who it will be shared with;
– the legal basis for processing the personal data such as consent or legitimate interests;
– data subject rights such as the right to access, rectify and erase their personal data;
– explanation of how you will ensure the security of the personal data and how long you will retain it;
– contact information for the responsible person to be contacted in case of any queries pertaining to personal information.
GDPR-compliant internal policies cover a range of areas including data protection, data retention, data subject rights, data breaches and privacy notices. By having these policies in place, we will help you ensure that you are consistently implementing best practices for protecting personal data and complying with the GDPR’s high standards.
Additionally, GDPR-compliant internal and external policies demonstrate your organization’s commitment to data protection and build trust with stakeholders, including your customers, employees and partners.
A Transfer Impact Assessment (TIA) under the GDPR is a process of evaluating the potential risks associated with transferring EU and/or UK personal data to a country outside the European
Economic Area.
A TIA is required prior to any EU or UK personal data is transferred to a country or organization that is not deemed to have an adequate level of data protection by the European Commission.
The TIA assesses the impact of the transfer on the rights and freedoms of data subjects and identifies measures to mitigate any potential risks.
For more on TIAs, please read our article.
A DPIA must be conducted for high-risk processing activities which may result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals.
The DPIA is a tool used to identify, assess and mitigate the data protection risks associated with processing activities.
The DPIA is a key part of your accountability obligations under the GDPR, and when done properly, DPIAs help you assess and demonstrate how you comply with all your data protection obligations.
For more information about Data Protection Impact Assessments under the GDPR, please read our article.
Vendor management is a key element in ensuring compliance with the GDPR and other data protection laws. This involves conducting due diligence on potential suppliers, including
GDPR and other relevant data protection law requirements in contracts, monitoring supplier compliance, etc.
A robust vendor management program can help identify any risks or gaps in suppliers’ data protection practices and ensure you are meeting GDPR and other relevant data protection law requirements.
Vendor management helps organizations build trust with their stakeholders and demonstrates their commitment to protect personal data.
In addition, vendor management helps ensure that privacy and other fundamental rights of individuals are
being protected throughout the supply chain.
To understand why signing Data Processing Agreements with your vendors is important please read our article.
Our Comprehensive Pricing Structure
We pride ourselves of offering a comprehensive pricing structure for our DPO services.
This pricing ensures that our services are affordable for our clients while still allowing us to thoroughly perform our DPO mission to ensure your company’s compliance with the law.
We will take the following elements into account when drafting a proposal for a DPO mission plan suitable to your business and needs:
- the complexity of your data processing activities,
- the number of relevant jurisdictions
- the size of your company.
Contact us to request your Free and Personalized Quote!