1. The controller and the processor shall ensure that the data protection officer is involved, properly and in a timely manner, in all issues which relate to the protection of personal data.
Article 38 GDPR - Position of the data protection officer
2. The controller and processor shall support the data protection officer in performing the tasks referred to in Article 39 by providing resources necessary to carry out those tasks and access to personal data and processing operations, and to maintain his or her expert knowledge.
3. The controller and processor shall ensure that the data protection officer does not receive any instructions regarding the exercise of those tasks. He or she shall not be dismissed or penalised by the controller or the processor for performing his tasks. The data protection officer shall directly report to the highest management level of the controller or the processor.
4. Data subjects may contact the data protection officer with regard to all issues related to processing of their personal data and to the exercise of their rights under this Regulation.
5. The data protection officer shall be bound by secrecy or confidentiality concerning the performance of his or her tasks, in accordance with Union or Member State law.
6. The data protection officer may fulfil other tasks and duties. The controller or processor shall ensure that any such tasks and duties do not result in a conflict of interests.
Relevant Recitals
Frequently Asked Questions
Short answers to common questions about this provision. They are general information and not legal advice.
Paragraph 1 requires the controller and processor to ensure that the officer is involved, properly and in a timely manner, in all issues relating to the protection of personal data. Paragraph 2 obliges them to support the officer with the resources necessary to carry out the Article 39 tasks, with access to personal data and processing operations, and with the means to maintain his or her expert knowledge.
Paragraph 3 contains three guarantees. The officer must not receive any instructions regarding the exercise of the Article 39 tasks, must not be dismissed or penalised for performing those tasks, and must report directly to the highest management level of the controller or processor.
Yes. Under paragraph 4, data subjects may contact the officer with regard to all issues related to the processing of their personal data and to the exercise of their rights under the Regulation. This complements the obligation in Article 37(7) to publish the officer's contact details.
Yes. Paragraph 5 binds the officer to secrecy or confidentiality concerning the performance of his or her tasks, in accordance with Union or Member State law. The Regulation itself imposes the duty but leaves its detailed regime to that law.
Yes, with a limit. Paragraph 6 permits the officer to fulfil other tasks and duties, but the controller or processor must ensure that they do not result in a conflict of interests, which in practice excludes functions in which the officer would determine the purposes and means of processing and then monitor his or her own decisions.