Abstract

The institution of the Data Protection Officer will be of key importance in the data protection system under the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation. Therefore, the reform of the European data protection framework has a direct impact on the execution of their functions by current Data Protection Officers, who have to start just now the preparations for the application of the new legal provisions.

By introducing the institution of the Data Protection Officers (DPOs), the EU legislator specified their new status and tasks, assigning to them a key role in the data protection system. The article analyses the challenges faced by DPOs in connection with the changes of the EU data protection regulations, focusing on new tasks, safeguards of independence and qualifications required of the future DPOs.