Data Controllers and Processors

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Data Controllers and Processors

            Data control and data processing are two distinct concepts. Distinguishing between the two concepts is often a difficult undertaking for a lot of people. A data controller is essentially an individual or organization charged with the task of obtaining, storing, and using personal information either in structured manual files or on a computer. Being a data controller bears a lot of serious legal responsibilities. One should, therefore, seek clarification on which responsibilities apply to him/her as an individual or to their organization. A data controller is classified as a legal person and can include an organization, a company, or an individual such as a private practitioner or a sole trader. Data controllers are responsible for determining the purpose and the manner in which personal data will be processed (Hu, Grance, and Ferraiolo). Data processor, on the other hand, refers to any individual or an organization that processes personal data on behalf of the data controller. The processing of data involves holding, recording, and analyzing data to generate valuable information for use by the data controller. It may also involve operations that include retrieval, disclosure, organization, consultation, or destruction of the data.

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Data controllers are guided by certain rules that they have to follow to ensure legal compliance. They are required to process all personal data in a legal and fair manner (European Commission).Besides, all data has to be collected for legitimate and explicit purposes, and used exclusively to address those purposes. All personal data in a data controller’s possession should be accurate and updated whenever it is necessary to do so. Data controllers also have the responsibility of securing personal data from loss, unlawful destruction, disclosure, or alteration, particularly when the data processing procedure involves the transmission of data over networks (European Commission).They are also responsible for ensuring that necessary security measures are installed in their infrastructure.

In contrast, a data processor has to enter into a contract with a data controller to have the powers to decide the methods or the information technology systems that will be used in collecting of data (Vrhovnik, Schwarzand Suhre). Data processors decide how personal data is stored, the security that would be used to secure the data, the means that are used in the transfer of data from one institution to another, retrieval patterns of data for particular persons, and the means that can be used to dispose data (Information Commissioner’s Office). The roles that data processorsperform are typically determined by the contract between them and the data controllers. In all situations, though, data processors use their technical skills in carrying out tasks on behalf of the data controller.

Both data control and processing are important in procurement because they determine the type of products and services that will be obtained by the organization. They depend on these tasks to process client data to determine the requirements needed by the organization so that it can fulfil the requirements of those clients. For example, in the procurement of ballot papers for elections scheduled for August, 2017, in Kenya, an East African nation, the country’s electoral body, IEBC (Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission) is the data controller as it is involved in the collection of personal data of all eligible voters. After collecting the data, it contracts KPMG, a professional audit firm to do a forensic analysis of the data collected so that errors are corrected and a determination is made on the final register. In this case, KPMG acts as the data processor. The audited information is then used to procure ballot papers from a printing company. Thus, both data control and processing are essential components of the procurement process.

Works Cited

European Commission. Obligations of Data Controllers. European Commission, 2017. Web.

Hu, Vincent C., Grance, Tim and Ferraiolo, David.An Access Control Scheme for Big Data Processing. 2015. Web.

Information Commissioners Office. Data controllers and data processors: What the difference is and what the governance implications are, 2016. Web.

Vrhovnik, Marko., Schwarz, Holger and Suhre, Oliver.An Approach to Optimize Data Processing in Business Processes. VLDB ‘07, September 23-28, 2007, Vienna, Austria. Web.