The exponential growth and increased reliance on personal data presents inherent operational, reputational and regulatory challenges for any company. For those organizations subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), however, the challenges are specific and menaced by the ever-present specter of heavy fines and regulator reprimands.
Perhaps the most surprising challenge that many companies face is complying with one of the GDPR’s more straightforward requirements: appointing a Data Protection Officer (DPO). Article 37 requires some organizations to appoint a DPO to oversee and support the organization’s data privacy compliance and serve as an external point of contact on all privacy-related issues. The DPO should have “expert knowledge of data protection law” and understand the types of technical, administrative and programmatic safeguards typically deployed to protect privacy rights.
