| ICT Recht

What is a DPO?

A DPO or privacy officer is a privacy expert who independently advises and reports on compliance with privacy laws (first and foremost the GDPR, if you are located in the EU).

When is it legally required to appoint a DPO?

Appointing a DPO is compulsory under the GDPR if:

• you are a public authority or a governmental agency;
• you are engaged in regular and systemic monitoring of people’s activities on a large scale; or
• you process sensitive personal data (such as medical records) on a large scale.

What are the benefits of appointing a DPO?

Appointing a DPO can also be valuable for organisations which are not obligated to do so. Because the DPO will help you to comply with privacy regulations, to prevent personal data breaches, or to take the required steps when a breach could not be avoided, your organisation’s risk of fines and civil liabilities due to privacy violations can be significantly reduced.

Furthermore, the DPO can help improve your organisation’s relationship with both customers and employees, as they can see that their privacy is appropriately safeguarded.

What are the benefits of hiring an external DPO?

The DPO can be appointed either internally (an employee) or externally (an independent service provider). It is important to be aware that the DPO must be sufficiently independent and free of any real or perceived conflicts of interest. For example, appointing a person from HR or a security officer as DPO is generally not advised. Appointing an external DPO can help ensure that the DPO is sufficiently independent.

Hiring a DPO from Legal ICT

If you would like to appoint an external DPO, you may consider hiring one of Legal ICT’s (virtual) privacy officers.

We offer two possibilities:

• A virtual DPO: we are your virtual DPO and we make sure that your organisation complies with all the relevant privacy laws on remote. It is up to you to what extent you want to make use of our services; the hours are flexible. This service is available from €950 (excluding VAT) per month. This DPO will be registered with the relevant supervisory authority.
• An in-house DPO: Do you need in-house support? Legal ICT Secondment will provide a qualified DPO for your organisation. This service ensures that relevant expert knowledge is always available within your company. A flexible number of hours is possible as well, starting at 8 hours per week. We can provide you an estimated fee for this service on demand. This DPO will be registered with the relevant supervisory authority.

What a DPO from Legal ICT can do for your organisation

Our privacy officers are members of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and Certified Information Privacy Professionals/Europe (CIPP/E). This helps ensure that your organisation will have up-to-date and specialised privacy knowledge available at all times.

Our DPO can help your organisation by carrying out e.g. the following tasks:

• Improve privacy awareness within your organisation;
• Provide guidance and training to help your staff follow privacy rules;
• Monitor compliance and advise about related risks;
• Draft or review legally required privacy documents, such as:
  • privacy statements;
  • data protection impact assessments (DPIAs);
  • data processing agreements;
• Serve as a contact point for supervisory authorities and data subjects.

WOULD YOU LIKE MORE INFORMATION? 

Send an e-mail to: info@legalict.com or call us at: +32 (0)2 535 77 55. You can also use the form below: one of our legal advisors will get back to you very soon.