PERSONAL DATA Duties and responsibilities of the Data Protection Officer in the organization

In the digital age, personal data is one of the most valuable assets of any organization. Their protection, in accordance with GDPR, is not only an obligation, but also a foundation for the trust of customers and business partners. In this context, the role of the Data Protection Officer (DPO) acquires special importance. Required by the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), this function is the foundation of safe and compliant processing of personal data. What specifically does the DPO do, and how do modern tools such as Redact support him in his daily duties? Here’s a practical guide.

A Data Protection Officer is a person appointed within an organization to monitor compliance with data protection regulations, as well as to support the data controller and processors. According to Article 37 of the GDPR, the appointment of a DPO is mandatory in the case of:

• public bodies and entities (with the exception of the courts in their administration of justice),
• entities whose main activity consists of data processing operations that require regular and systematic monitoring on a large scale,
• entities that process special categories of personal data on a large scale (e.g., medical data) or data on criminal convictions and violations.

The DPO may be an employee of the organization or perform duties under a service contract. It is important that he or she has adequate expertise and knowledge of national and EU data protection regulations.

According to Article 39 of the GDPR, the main tasks of the Data Protection Officer include:

1. Informing and advising the data controller and data processing employees of their obligations under the RODO and other regulations.
2. Monitor compliance with data protection regulations and the organization’s data protection policies, including assigning tasks, raising awareness, training staff, and conducting audits.
3. Training of personnel involved in personal data processing operations.
4. Provide recommendations for conducting a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) and monitor its implementation.
5. Cooperation with the supervisory authority.
6. Acting as a point of contact for the supervisory authority on matters related to data processing, including in the event of violations.

DPO should act independently and cannot be penalized or dismissed for carrying out his tasks. The organization is required to provide him with adequate resources and support.

Anonymization of personal data is the process of irreversibly hiding elements that identify individuals, so that the data cannot be attributed to a specific person, either directly or indirectly. It is a form of data security that complies with the principle of data minimization and storage limitation (Article 5(1)(c) and (e) of the GDPR).

Some of the most common situations where data anonymization is required include:

• sharing data with external partners (e.g., law firms, auditors, IT service providers),
• publication of data for scientific research, statistical and benchmarking analysis,
• creating documentation for education, in-house training, or testing of IT systems,
• retention of documents after the expiration of the period during which there is a legal basis for processing personal data in unclassified form,
• preparation of data for inspection and administrative proceedings.

In the work of a Data Protection Officer, time and precision are crucial. Redact is a modern tool that automates the process of document anonymization and supports the DPO in many aspects of his daily work:

• Flexibility and precision – you can search for specific words or phrases in any language. The system will find occurrences of the searched phrase throughout the document. It will then present the results and, by user decision, edit all or only selected elements.
• Redaction patterns – the system will automatically search for specific types of information (as many as 23 in total), including key personal data in accordance with GDPR, and the user will decide which ones to hide.
• OCR (Optical Character Recognition) – the technology not only reads the entire text of a document from scans (PDF, JPG, etc.), but ensures the highest precision even in difficult conditions: it works on very low-quality scans – where competing systems give up, recognizes documents rotated at any angle and supports handwriting.
• No limitations – no matter what kind of documents the DPO is dealing with, Redact can handle it. The system supports files in as many as 25 formats and 80 languages.
• GDPR compliance – supports compliance with data security and accountability requirements (Articles 32 and 5(2) of the GDPR).

Examples of practical use:

• By anonymizing documents that are transferred externally – to law firms, for example – when transferring client records to an external legal service provider, Redact makes it possible to quickly remove sensitive data, protecting the client’s privacy.
• Create training materials with anonymization of personal data – Redact removes sensitive data, preserving the structure and educational value of the documents.
• In an external audit, Redact supports the DPO in quickly preparing documentation without the risk of inadvertent disclosure of personal data.

The role of the Data Protection Officer in an organization is extremely responsible and complex. It includes not only knowledge of the regulations, but also practical measures for personal data security. The DPO is an advisor, a compliance watchdog, a trainer and a contact with the supervisory authority in one person.

In the age of digitization and growing threats, technological support – such as Redact – is becoming an indispensable tool in every DPO’s arsenal. This tool not only streamlines daily duties, but also minimizes the risk of errors and contributes to building an organization’s information security culture. It allows the DPO to focus on risk analysis and advice, instead of manually deleting personal data from documents.

Ensure GDPR compliance, save time and reduce the risk of errors. Bet on Redact and protect your organization’s personal data with the utmost care.