A Data Protection Officer (DPO) is a person in charge of verifying the compliance of personal data processing with the applicable law. The DPO communicates information on processing personal data such as its: purposes, interconnections, types, categories of data subjects, length of retention and department(s) in charge of implementing processing. DPOs may be required by law or recommended.
The European General Data Protection Regulation requires that data controllers and data processors designate a DPO in any case where:
The Italian Data Protection Authority issued an opinion in late 2017 advising that DPOs must possess an in-depth knowledge of privacy laws and practices, as well as relevant administrative rules and procedures. A DPO is not mandatory for every organization but is highly recommended.