Coinciding with the first anniversary of the General Data Protection Regulation on May 25th was the reappointment of Helen Dixon as the Data Protection Commissioner for another five years.
With regards to her renewed role, she said:
I welcome the Government’s early decision and announcement in relation to my reappointment as Commissioner for a second term. At this early but critical juncture of GDPR implementation and enforcement, continuity is important to drive clarity for organisations around the standards they must meet in order to effectively safeguard the data protection rights of service users, consumers and citizens. It is a privilege to serve in this role and to work with the dedicated staff of the Data Protection Commission. Our fellow EU data protection authorities count on us to effectively supervise the large internet platforms headquartered in Ireland and we are committed to this task.”
The Data Protection Commission highlighted the significant increase in contact with them in relation to GDPR over the past 12 months as follows:
- 6,624 complaints were received.
- 5,818 valid data security breaches were notified.
- Over 48,000 contacts were received through the DPC’s Information and Assessment Unit.
- 54 investigations were opened – 35 of these are non, cross-border investigations and 19 are cross-border investigations into multinational technology companies and their compliance with the GDPR.
- 1,206 Data Protection Officer notifications were received.
- Staffing numbers increased from 85 at the end of 2017 to 137 in May 2019.
Are you Compliant?
It is evident from a survey carried out by GDPR.EU that a number of companies have yet to comply with the GDPR. They asked 716 small businesses from all over Spain, the United Kingdom, France, and Ireland about how the law affected them and whether they were struggling to adhere to it. You can read the full survey here.
If the year flew by and you have yet to fully comply with the GDPR, or are unsure if you have made the necessary changes required, then this checklist available on GDPR.EU should help you.
However, if you would like further information and assistance on how to make your business more GDPR compliant, then the Law Society Finuas Skillnet Seminar on June 20th titled: GDPR & New Business Models for Solicitors, should be noted. All proceeds will go to a worthwhile cause, too. See here for more information or to book tickets.