Category Archives: data privacy

Choosing your DPO: Full-Time? Service? Consult?

I’ve noticed many SMEs running  LinkedIn ads for DPOs, who are recruiting full-time employees.  And it’s disappointing to see how often other options are overlooked. 

Which DPO Option and Benefits Suit You Best?

I think it’s important to consider all the available options before making a decision.  Yes, you could employ a Full-Time DPO for your business.  Or you could contract with DPO specialists to provide DPO as a service.  Or appoint an internal ‘non-specialist’ and support them with an external data protection consultancy or consultant.

I’ve listed below some of the benefits from these options, so that the next time you need to find a DPO, you have information to help you make an informed decision about what type of DPO you actually need, and what solution might fit you best.

1. Cost 

As with any new employee, hiring a highly qualified full-time DPO involves significant costs, especially in salary and benefits.  Outsourcing the DPO role means you only pay for the DPO services and time you use. You don’t need to consider staff benefits, holiday, sickness, appraisals. Or the time, cost and expense involved if you need to let them go. Nor do you need to be concerned about FTE overheads like office space, equipment or other resources.

2. Expertise

Internal DPOs may struggle with budget constraints and limited resources. Outsourcing can provide a more cost-effective solution with access to necessary resources as needed. An outsourced DPO service can give you more or less support month by month, depending on your needs. You can choose how much time you need, and, in any case the time required can be flexible. You can ramp it up or down depending on whether you have a large project, or simply need ongoing maintenance. And if you need an interim DPO, you can appoint a consultant with no need for long term commitment.

3. Flexibility / Scalability

Top quality DPOs (whether FTE or outsourced) are experts in data protection law regulations. But perhaps the biggest advantage to using the DPO-as-a-Service or consultancy option is that those DPOs will have gained considerable and diverse experience from working in many different industry sectors.  They see many and varied solutions to common data protection issues from the numerous clients with whom they work.  And vitally, within a team of DPOs in a consultancy, they will always be learning from each other, considering solutions based on the shared knowledge of the whole team.  And that shared knowledge becomes your company’s shared knowledge.

4. Unbiased Approach

An outsourced DPO or consultant has the advantage of being independent and unconflicted. They are able to consider your issues with fresh eyes and no bias.  This means that they can conduct unbiased audits and assessments of your data protection practices. Then help you implement any remedial actions. 

5. Internal Challenges

Full-time DPOs often face challenges such as lack of support from key stakeholders and cooperation within the organisation. Although fully engaged with the client and its goals, outsourced DPOs can navigate these challenges more effectively due to their independence. 

Conclusion

The traditional route of hiring a full-time employee may be perfect for many companies. But it’s clearly not the only solution.  So when you next need to appoint a DPO, you could state that not only full-time employees, but also DPO-as-a-Service providers or consultants are welcome to apply. 

That way you can be sure that you don’t miss out by excluding the right person by default.  And of course, you can review and interview applicants as normal and make your own decision about which individual or option fits your needs best. 

Data Compliant International

If you are looking for a DPO or supportive consultant, Data Compliant International provides DPO-as-a-Service, and data protection / privacy  consultants to a wide range of business sectors.  If you’d like to know more about how we help our clients, please take a look here.  If you would like help or assistance with any of your data protection obligations, please email dc@datacompliant.co.uk or call 01787 277742.  

AI: Balancing Innovation, Ethics, Privacy & Governance  

After last week’s AI Action Summit in Paris, AI ethics and safety legislation has become a hot topic globally.  Various regions are taking different approaches. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance made it very clear that the Trump administration was firmly opposed to “excessive regulation” of AI, and argued that it would stifle innovation and hinder the growth of the AI industry.

Global Divide in AI Regulation

With different regions in the world taking different approaches, the landscape is complex.  Even within the US, there are divided approaches.  In the absence of federal guidance, some states are actively implementing their own AI governance state laws to address ethical and safety concerns.  These, of course, will now conflict with the current federal stance, which leans towards minimal regulation in favour of rapid AI development.

Global AI race risks safety, privacy and ethics

Globally, it’s a race, with China and the US at the forefront of AI development. China’s AI strategy focuses on becoming the world leader by 2030, with significant investments in research and development. The US has a similar goal and is doubling its AI research investment. Britain’s Starmer also has ambitions for rapid development.  But the global competitive race is clearly in danger of compromising ethical considerations and safety – and sustainability issues – in favour of innovation and rapid development.

Trustworthy AI governance

So it is somewhat reassuring that the UK, South Korea, France, Ireland and Australia data protection authorities have issued a joint statement on “building trustworthy data governance frameworks to encourage development of innovative and privacy-protective AI”.  It does at least show that these countries are making a concerted effort to balance innovation with ethical, privacy and safety considerations

In summary the joint statement :

  • States the need for AI to be developed and deployed in accordance with data protection and privacy rules, including robust data governance frameworks, and embedding privacy-by-design into AI systems from the start of the planning process
  • Aims to provide legal certainty and safeguards including transparency and fundamental rights
  • Commits to clarifying the legal bases for processing personal data in the context of AI
  • The  countries will exchange and establish a shared understand of proportionate security measures, which will be updated to keep up with evolving AI data processing activities
  • They will monitor the technical and societal impacts of AI and leverage the expertise and experience of Data Protection Authorities and other relevant entities
  • They aim to reduce legal uncertainty, while creating opportunities for innovation in a compliant environment
  • Commits to strengthening interaction with other authorities to improve consistency between the various regulatory frameworks for AI systems, tools and applications

It does not, however, address other concerning issues such as:

  • Bias and fairness (for example in areas such as hiring, lending, law enforcement). However the EU’s AI Act works towards mitigating these biases
  • Environmental impact (includes significant electricity demand and massive drinking water consumption. The extraction of raw materials and the generation of electronic waste to produce and transport high-performance computing hardware.) The Artificial Intelligence Environmental Impacts Act of 2024 in the US (if Trump doesn’t repeal it) and UNEP’s guidelines are steps towards addressing these concerns.

Data Protection Legislation Applies

In essence, regardless of guidelines and specific AI legislation and guidelines, the data protection legislation fundamentals do not change just because the processing involves AI. All AI personal data processing must abide by the prevailing data protection legislation – wherever in the world you are. 

Data Compliant

If you would like help or assistance with any of your data protection obligations, please email dc@datacompliant.co.uk or call 01787 277742,  And, for more information about to meet your AI obligations, please see here.

Victoria Tuffill

17th February 2025