> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.assenteo.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.assenteo.com/privacy-professionals-when-do-you-need-them/when-do-you-need-a-dpo.md).

# When do you need a DPO?

Your company may need to appoint a [DPO, or Data Protection Officer](https://docs.assenteo.com/dictionary/dpo), to be compliant with data protection laws. 

The term ‘DPO’ derives from the [General Data Protection Regulation](https://docs.assenteo.com/dictionary/gdpr) (GDPR). Under the GDPR, a registered DPO is likely mandatory if your company targets users in the EU (under the GDPR, referred to as ‘Data Subjects’) and is one of the following: 

* A business collecting sensitive user data on a ‘large-scale’
* Monitoring individuals through measures such as online tracking or location collection on a ‘large-scale’
* A public authority or body

Under GDPR, a DPO is independent, and acts as:

* a public point of contact for the European Commission in case of complaint
* a public point of contact for users to communicate with; and
* an advisor identifying privacy and data handling gaps in your business

### Penalties

If your business does not appoint a DPO when it should have, it may incur penalties for not fulfilling administrative duties. These penalties can include fines of up to €10 million or 2% of global annual turnover (whichever is higher).

## What does an Assenteo DPO do?

At Assenteo, your DPO will work simultaneously as:

* the external contact point for data protection authorities
* the external contact point for customers
* an advisor to your C-suite on data protection. 

\
Assenteo provides an independent DPO as a virtual DPO (vDPO) service.  A vDPO is a more streamlined service than having an in-house DPO, while meeting your obligations under GDPR.  Rather than hiring a full time DPO, a vDPO provides you with a contact for authorities and external data questions and meets your DPO requirement. Your vDPO will also be available for advisory calls as well as available via email and Slack. As a point of contact for your C-suite, your DPO will advise your company on how to collect and process the data of your internal team and employees, as well as of your customers. 

DPOs act from the position of protecting data subjects interests under data protection laws, so their work is more risk identification and mitigation based. If you need someone to help you both protect and enable your business an Assenteo Privacy Partner may be a better fit.<br>

{% embed url="<https://www.assenteo.com/>" %}

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