Why you need a data protection officer
The GDPR requires organizations to appoint a data protection officer (DPO) if they:
- Be a government agency or
- Processing data on a “large scale” or
- Using data to “regularly and systematically” monitor individuals
Although it is not necessary for a data protection officer to hold a full-time position, this position does require specialized data protection expertise. The power of the Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) to impose significant financial sanctions and the risk of reputational damage if personal data is not protected mean that this role is becoming increasingly important.
This page explains what data protection legislation means for financial institutions and insurance companies and what aspects they must take into account when managing personal data.
The requirements of the legislation for data protection officers
Responsibilities
The data protection officer must:
- Inform and advise the organization on data protection
- Monitoring the organisation's compliance with legislation
- Ensure that personal data protection is integrated “by design” into new processes and technologies
- Collaborate with and act as a point of contact for supervisory authorities
The person and the position
The data protection officer must:
- Have expert knowledge of data protection law and practices
- Reporting to the highest level of management
- Avoiding conflicts of interest with other functions they perform in the organization
FGs can be employees or a third party who provides services on a contract basis
What do data protection officers do?
Informing and advising
- Facilitate staff training, including for board members, managers and data handling staff
- Sharing best practices for data protection within the organization
- Advising on the consequences of other data protection regulations
- Answering questions about everything related to the protection of personal data
Ensure that individuals have their rights to
- access to their data through exercising data subject rights
- Information about processing
- Are forgotten
- Correcting incorrect data
- Restricting processing
- Transferring their data
- Objection to processing, automated decision-making and profiling
Review and update policies
- Keep the policy up to date with data protection requirements
- Privacy and cookie policy
- Consent forms
- General data protection
- Retention Policy
- Personnel policy, etc
Oversee the evaluation of new processes and high-risk processes
- Privacy by design
- Data protection and privacy impact assessments (DPIAs and PIAs)
Monitoring the sharing of personal data
- Ensure that appropriate agreements are in place and monitor compliance, including:
- Data Sharing Agreements
- Data processing agreements
Manage and monitor communications
- Be the contact person for the AP and other European supervisory authorities
- Monitoring and checking responses to the exercise of data subjects' rights
Monitor, report and demonstrate responsibility
- Ensure all records are maintained, including:
- Processing register
- Data asset registry
- Infringement register
- Risk register
- Register of the exercised rights of persons
- Contacts with supervisory authorities
- Training register
- Reporting to senior management on risk and compliance development
Make a request below
Fill in your details below and we will contact you as soon as possible