Digital Transformation may improve customer experience, reduce costs, and increase productivity, which may ultimately facilitate growth. Transferring your business systems to digital will involve the use of computers and other IT equipment.
Where any of these digital assets gather or use your clients’ data, you should be aware of the ramifications of GDPR laws about privacy and data protection. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides a framework to ensure that organisations handle personal data lawfully and fairly.
Responsibility for Data Protection
Data protection is the responsibility of everyone within an organisation, not just the IT department. Fair data usage means aligning data processing with the principles outlined in GDPR.
Training ensures that all employees understand data protection and their responsibilities. Human error is almost always involved in data breaches, so educating employees is vital.
Activities before starting a Digital Transformation
Before launching a digital transformation, organisations should conduct a Data Processing Impact Assessment (DPIA) to stress test the transformation’s purpose, lawfulness, and risks. This assessment helps identify potential issues and ensures compliance with GDPR. When GDPR is understood and applied correctly, it becomes any business’s greatest ally.
Vendors’ selection for Digital transformation
When choosing vendors for digital transformation, organisations should conduct due diligence and assess their compliance to the regulation. A Data Processing Agreement (DPA) should be established between the organisation and the vendor to ensure fair treatment of data.
This is a legally binding document and should not be treated lightly, ensure you get a GDPR professional to help you draft it.
Data Transferring warnings
The GDPR again provides a framework for assessing and mitigating risks associated with data transfers, in particular with data transfer outside the UK. Transferring data outside of the UK requires additional safeguards, a Transfer Risk Assessment (TRA) should be carried out followed by an International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) for both parties to sign and to be held accountable. This is a legally binding document and should not be treated lightly. Ensure you get a GDPR professional to help you draft it.
AI, automation-warnings
When it comes to automation processes supported by AI, caution is advised. AI is still a young field, and data accuracy and copyright issues can arise. However, using the GDPR framework can help ensure that automation processes do not compromise data protection.
Automation to comply with GDPR?
Utilising automation as a tool to enhance processes can be beneficial. Privacy by design principles can be applied to develop solutions that prioritise privacy and data protection.
What is privacy by design?
Privacy by design is a concept that emphasises incorporating privacy considerations into the development of software and AI solutions. It involves building privacy features into the solution from the start, rather than retrofitting them later.
Written by Cristina Vannini-Goodchild who can be found on LinkedIn and on her podcast ‘Why Such a Fuss’
