The Role and Responsibilities of the Data Protection Officer in the State Archives – an Attempt to Assess from the Perspective of Five Years after the Introduction of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Abstract

This article aims to assess the issue of data protection and the role and tasks of theData Protection Offi cer in the National Archives. With the introduction of the EU Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), much has changed in the perception of those who deal with these issues. The Data Protection Offi cer’s main concern is the proper handling of records that are produced in the process of any organizational unit’s activities, including those of the State Archives. The role and responsibilities of the Data Protection Offi cer in the state archives are the same as in other organizations. Due to the nature of the activities of the state archive network and the specifi c nature of an institution such as the archives, the duties of the Data Protection Offi cer are extremely important. On the one hand, the state archives service holds records with permanent retention, i.e. category A, and on the other hand it operates like a normal offi ce serving the public with its organizational structure. The management of information security in the age of the knowledge society is the key issue in any institution, for which the Data Protection Offi cer is responsible. The information security system itself must be well designed and thought out. The EU legislator intended the function of the Data Protection Offi cer to protect our privacy as well. The system of personal data protection has been in place in Poland for twenty-six years, and after the implementation of the GDPR (along with penalties for improper processing of personal data), we are increasingly considering it as our inalienable right to have our personal data well processed and not shared with unauthorized persons.