Data Protection Officer

Breaches in the confidentiality of personal information gathered in the regular course of commercial or business activities have been in the news for many years with little to no compliance action until recently.  

The implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on May 4th, 2016 was put into motion on May 25th, 2018 and has since been an integral part in keeping personal and sensitive data safe from those who wish to use it maliciously.  

GDPR has evolved through the first full year of application, making it much more difficult for many companies to stay compliant and stave off colossal fines within GDPR regulations (Google included).  

Many American-based companies feel that since the original terms of GDPR were drawn up for the European data market that they do not apply to their company. Unfortunately, many organizations’ digital operations exist in a globally manufactured web of platforms that fall under the jurisdiction of this data protection regulation, GDPR.

A plethora of global companies are searching high and low for sustainable solutions, to realize that the key to data protection compliance has been baked into GDPR all along.  That solution lies with a company’s Data Protection Officer (DPO).  This article will serve as a high-level understanding of a DPO’s role as it pertains to a data protection officer GDPR requirements and responsibilities, how to hire a good DPO, and which organizations and legal entities are required to appoint a DPO.

Rarely do U.S.-based businesses consider the implications of the 2018 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that was implemented on May 25, 2018.  Executives might feel that since they only operate physically within U.S. territories that this European Union (EU) law does not extend to their neck of the woods.  

Although this assumption is true in many cases for U.S.-based businesses, there are a few digital exceptions that call for these businesses to operate under the specific requirements of GDPR.  In these cases, businesses will need to appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO) to oversee their data protection strategy and implementation while keeping the organization on the path towards GDPR compliance.  

If this sounds like your organization’s area of need, follow along below and we’ll get you up to speed with our high-level overview of both GDPR requirements and DPO requirements and responsibilities.

Under the regulations set forth in the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) certain compliant organizations must designate a data protection officer (DPO). The GDPR data protection officer functions in a number of capacities that are all geared towards ensuring that the organization they are working with or for maintained compliance with the GDPR. The GDPR itself is a sprawling regulatory structure whose implementation has led to a large amount of confusion about what organizations and companies are considered in-scope, and how exactly those entities maintain compliance.