New European laws also generate business: the first Digital Services ‘representatives’ are born
The European Union has passed a compendium of technology regulations in recent years and each regulation has generated similar debates: debates about the fear that hyper-regulation may limit the ability of companies in Europe to innovate.
In short, data protection officers in Spain do not have sufficient resources, are often forced to take on tasks that do not fall within their remit and therefore often lead to conflicts of interest and do not guarantee the independence required by the GDPR.
In many cases, companies opt to hire an external data protection officer. To do so, they rely on law firms and specialised consultancies.
Beatriz Rodríguez, Data Protection, Cybersecurity and Technology partner at RocaJunyent, notes in this article published in the digital newspaper Business Insider, confirms that it is a service that they can offer and that ‘in fact in some minority situations it has been offered’.
However, he also clarifies that ‘large clients try to go to subsidiaries they have in the territory, and smaller companies to consultancy firms’. It makes sense: at the end of the day, as this lawyer explains, being a representative ‘implies a considerable responsibility before the GDPR’, when it can also mean ‘having direct responsibility’.
Law firms such as RocaJunyent are, for example, part of an international network of privacy specialists. Therefore, when a client arrives demanding a representative before the European Union and its Member States, it is not unusual for the members of this network to take on these assignments.
Finally, Beatriz Rodríguez points out that ‘if GDPR consultancy firms do not incorporate specialists in this area, they will be left in the lurch’.
Access to the full article (available in Spanish)
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