• The professional mission statement of the data protection officer

    Data protection officers bear great responsibility. They accompany companies and authorities on the path to digitalization. In doing so, they focus on the fundamental right to the protection of personal data on the one hand and the needs and development of companies and administrations on the other.

    Data protection officers therefore not only help to comply with laws, but also use their specialist knowledge and experience to ensure that the best processes with a secure solution are a success for everyone.

    From this dual perspective, data protection officers make a decisive contribution to the credibility of companies and administrations. Effective data protection builds trust with customers and partners, protects company values and strengthens brands. This makes data protection an important competitive advantage.

    The BvD develops specific requirements for the work and knowledge of data protection officers in the professional mission statement for data protection officers. Our members commit themselves in writing to this mission statement and thus stand for highly qualified professional advice.

    The BvD regularly adapts the professional mission statement to current legal and technical developments, focusing in particular on the areas of processes and organization, IT systems and applications as well as data protection law. This fourth edition of the mission statement for data protection officers integrates the new requirements of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the qualifications of data protection officers.

    Further developments in legislation, case law and discussions are closely monitored by the BvD's Professional Profile Committee, which plays a constructive role in shaping them and continuously adds to the professional mission statement.

    Job profile committee

    Expert opinion on the role of the data protection officer under the GDPR

    The BvD has long been concerned with the development of the role of the data protection officer in the GDPR. During the development of the GDPR, there were many meetings and discussions to clarify the position and role of the data protection officer as clearly as possible. Due to the numerous compromises in the GDPR, however, there is still a lot of room for interpretation, which is only regulated to a limited extent by the new BDSG. For this reason, the BvD Executive Board has developed a list of questions that should shed light on the key issues and the most important need for clarification regarding the DPO - in particular to clarify the much-discussed liability issues.

    This list of questions formed the basis for the expert opinion prepared by Derra, Meyer & Partner in 2017. The specialists from the fields of employment, criminal and liability law examined these points and attempted to summarize and develop trend-setting statements. The BvD Executive Board closely monitored the development of the report so that questions relating to operational practice could be clarified quickly. Nevertheless, new questions and aspects arose during the process that require further investigation. These will be the subject of further discussion and clarification, particularly by the Professional Profile Committee, but also by the Executive Board. We will continue to provide information on this.

    Downloads

    • BvD job description (PDF, 158K)Download
    • Position paper on cost estimates by the data protection officer (PDF, 92K)Download
    • Opinion of the BvD on the position, duties and liability of the DPO in the GDPR (PDF, 4M)Download

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