{"id":10102,"date":"2023-03-21T13:25:33","date_gmt":"2023-03-21T12:25:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/actonic.de\/?p=10102"},"modified":"2023-03-31T10:27:19","modified_gmt":"2023-03-31T08:27:19","slug":"roles-and-responsibilities-of-a-data-protection-officer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/actonic.de\/en\/roles-and-responsibilities-of-a-data-protection-officer\/","title":{"rendered":"Roles and Responsibilities of a Data Protection Officer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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What is a Data Protection Officer (DPO)?<\/h2>\n

A data protection officer (DPO) is a natural person who is responsible for monitoring the data protection strategy of a company in accordance with the GDPR<\/strong><\/a>. Furthermore, DPOs are contact partners for data subjects, employees as well as the workers’ council. Training employees on data protection<\/strong><\/a> compliance is also one of the responsibilities. DPOs report directly to the highest level of management in an organization \u2013 but are not subject to directives regarding data protection responsibilities. Through their role, they help maintain business continuity and trustworthiness.<\/p>\n

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On the go?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Save yourself time and review the responsibilities of a DPO in a nutshell in this article: What Does a Data Protection Officer (DPO) Do?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Internal or external data protection officers?<\/h3>\n

Data privacy officers can be appointed internally or externally \u2013 i.e., either employees of the company or independent business owners.<\/p>\n

To manage day-to-day responsibilities, it is important that no conflict of interest arises. Current obligations, tasks, and roles must not be seen as conflicting with monitoring responsibilities. This must be given special consideration in the case of internal data protection officers.<\/p>\n

Do I need a DPO?<\/h2>\n

According to Article 37 of the GDPR,<\/strong><\/a> all companies are obliged to appoint a data protection officer as soon as the core activity of the company is the processing of data of EU citizens.<\/p>\n

Although the legal text of the GDPR does not define a scope that more precisely specifies the \u201ccore activity\u201d of data processing<\/strong><\/a> and collection, many small businesses do not have to designate a data protection officer (DPO). Simply ask yourself to what extent data processing plays a role in your business, how many people are affected, how long data is retained, and what the scope of this data retention is.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text el_class=”info-box-general”]If you have any questions or uncertainties, feel free to contact a trusted data protection service, made in Germany.<\/strong><\/a>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Do I need a data protection officer if I am not in the EU?<\/h2>\n

It is a common GDPR myth<\/strong><\/a> that the regulation only applies to EU-based companies. In fact, as soon as you collect and process data from EU citizens, you are subject to the GDPR. You could be located in the US, China, or Australia.<\/strong> What matters is not YOUR location, but the location of the affected individuals.<\/p>\n

So if you realize that you need to comply with the GDPR, be careful and ask yourself in the next step to what extent your \u201ccore activity\u201d is data processing.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Designation of a DPO<\/h2>\n

The designation of a data protection officer is relatively simple compared to all other activities related to data protection and data security.<\/strong><\/a> According to Article 37, point 7 of the GDPR,<\/strong><\/a> it takes place as follows:<\/p>\n

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The controller or the processor shall publish the contact details of the data protection officer and communicate them to the supervisory authority.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Thus, to officially designate your data protection officer, it is sufficient to provide information such as the name and address of the DPO as well as your institution and contact details via the online notification form of your regional supervisory authority.<\/p>\n

Responsibilities of a data protection officer<\/h2>\n

So much for the basics. Now let’s get to the facts and the hard question: What are the day-to-day responsibilities and roles <\/strong>of data protection officers?<\/p>\n

In Article 39,<\/strong><\/a> the GDPR is again more detailed when describing responsibilities and roles.<\/p>\n

The responsibilities of a DPO are:<\/h3>\n