National Conference “Data Protection Impact Assessment and the Role of the Data Protection Officer”

Today, the 10th of July, the National Centre for Personal Data Protection (NCPDP) in collaboration with TAIEX Project experts is organising the workshop “Data Protection Impact Assessment and the Role of the Data Protection Officer”.

The aim of the workshop is the takeover of legal and operational best practices by the representatives of public institutions on Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) mechanisms, processing operations requiring a DPIA, and the role of the Data Protection Officer (DPO) within public sector personal data controllers.

The event was opened by NCPDP’s Director Victoria Muntean: “Current aspirations to digitise society, as well as the rapid technological developments widely used by both EU countries and the rest of the world, underline the pressing need for strong protection of personal data – a right guaranteed by both European Union and Council of Europe instruments. The collection, storage and use of personal data at an unprecedented level expose the data subjects whose data are processed to certain risks. These risks range from identity theft or inadvertent disclosure of personal data to the use of personal data for unknown purposes. A Data Protection Impact Assessment, in this case, is more than necessary, as it describes a process designed to identify the risks arising from the personal data processing, to minimise these risks and to detect them as early as possible.”

The conference is moderated by data protection experts from Italy and Malta. Amongst the topics addressed by the experts are: assessment of the necessity and proportionality of processing operations subject to the requirement to carry out a data protection impact assessment; scenarios for personal data protection impact assessment; practical mechanisms for carrying out prior consultations if the data protection impact assessment indicates that the processing would generate an increased risk and that this risk cannot be mitigated by reasonable means in terms of available technologies and implementation costs by DPA employees; the means given to the DPO to carry out his/her tasks; examples of best practices to assist state institutions/organisations in appointing and supporting the DPO in order to avoid possible conflicts of interest; etc.

Around 60 representatives of the public sector are participating in the event.

The workshop is organised and funded by the European Commission’s Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument (TAIEX).