Now that we have the data flow within your company, we need to highlight 2 aspects of LGPD that will help you determine the extent of your responsibility in relation to the many points listed in the company. I'm talking about the difference between Data Controller and Data Processor.

A simple example would be the roles between a company and its marketing agency. In this case, the company would be the data controller and the agency the data processor because their functions are distinct in the chain of services and responsibilities.

For example, when the Data Subject goes to an e-commerce website to purchase a product, from their perspective, who are they entrusting their personal data to in order to make that purchase?

Can they know if the agency receives the lead and then enters it into the email marketing tool? No. Therefore, the e-commerce website becomes the data controller and the agency becomes the data processor. Each has their own role under the law, but all are co-responsible, in their respective functions, for the proper handling of the data of the Data Subjects.

Therefore, in your data mapping that we mentioned a few lines back, what is your role: data controller or data processor? Or, depending on your business model, both depending on the stage?

It is important for you to highlight this because, just as your responsibilities differ based on the role you perform, the way you handle a request for data deletion or data download is different. You may have the data on hand and the capability to deliver it to the Data Subjects.

However, it may also happen that you can only refer this power to the data controller, after all, you are just a link in the chain and do not have direct access to the data, but to some encryption that only provides you with anonymized visualization.

Other common examples where there are different roles but clear co-responsibility for the data and its use include:

Company <> Third-party Accounting Firm. Real Estate Company <> Third-party Brokers. Investment Fund <> Independent Agents. E-commerce Website <>Logistics companies and delivery services. Law firms <> Customer and employee qualification data.

In conclusion, it is clear the importance of an accurate listing of all data controllers and data processors within your company's data mapping. With this information in hand, it is advisable to link all parties involved in the process according to your privacy policy and terms of use.

In the future, we can discuss the obligations prescribed by the law.

However, you can also consult directly with your lawyer, especially if you have any legislation that supersedes the LGPD.

In our next article, we delve into the responsibilities of the Data Protection Officer or Data Controller.
See you there.

Knowing who is controller and who is processor starts with knowing what data flows where: see data mapping and data inventory. The next step is the legal basis for each processing activity.