On May 21, 2012, Kyiv hosted the “Legal, Practical and Control Aspects of Personal Data Protection” conference, organized by the National Academy of Legal Sciences. Deputy Head of the State Service of Ukraine on Personal Data Protection, Vladimir Kozak acted as the moderator. More than 50 companies attended the conference. Vasil Kisil & Partners law firm was represented by its associate Vladyslav Podolyak, who spoke on "The use of personal data for commercial purposes."

The widespread use of huge amounts of data, particularly personal data on individuals and legal entities, commends us to pay close attention to the issue of data protection, as well as its ethical use for commercial purposes. Modern business trends, which are based on information about the client, force companies that value their reputation, to structure and organize their data processing. The need for data collection, processing and protection is primarily determined by the profile of the company itself and its mechanism of interacting with clients. However, practice shows that Ukrainian companies limit themselves to simply registering personal data databases. And just a few, mostly foreign companies are adopting specific policies and procedures for complex protection of personal data.

At the event, experts discussed the latest trends in improving the legislation on personal data protection, data processing set up within enterprises and organizations, modern tools and technology available to protect personal data, as well as supervision and inspection by the competent authorities overseeing personal data protection.

Not all companies today are willing to allocate sufficient resources to protect personal databases. However, positive trends observed in the Russian Federation indicate the activation of a similar process in Ukraine.

In his presentation Vladyslav Podolyak gave practical advice and recommendations regarding the use of personal data for commercial purposes. The main factors affecting the implementation of business processes for its protection, according to Vladyslav are:
- The adoption of legislation, including the introduction of liability;
- Harmonization of domestic policies in affiliated companies;
- Increasing consumer interest in the protection of their data;
- Increased competition and trade secret protection;
- The desire for transparency and building trust with the client;
- Introduction of new methods of advertising, marketing and sales;
- The emergence of products that are "able" to gather information about the owner (geolocation; online behavioural advertising).

Mr Podolyak recommends that companies wishing to implement personal data protection determine what kind of personal information is indeed necessary for their business for the foreseeable future, what exactly is the commercial purpose of data collection, which are the "collection points" for personal data gathering, as well as possible ways of communication with the client (including the communication necessary for the fulfilment of legal formalities.) Vladyslav gave a detailed review of documents necessary for registering personal databases, explained the preparation of questionnaires to collect information and described methods of obtaining consent for personal data processing.

Mr Podolyak also pointed out that when developing profiles of consumers (clients) many companies are using surveys, issuing customer cards or introduce loyalty programs, may come up short with respect to documenting the client's consent to the processing of their personal data by the company.

"Customers have begun to show interest in protecting their personal information and it is often due to the unauthorized transfer of data to third parties who impose unnecessary services", - said Vladyslav Podolyak. "Building a trusting relationship with the client is not possible without the protection of their personal data, and the latter requires seeking qualified legal advice." These findings were confirmed by the representative of the Russian Federation's Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Communications (the controlling body for the protection of personal data) Mrs Julia Zaboudko, who cited multiple examples when customers refused the services of companies that fail to protect their personal data.

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Head of PR/BD Department
Tel.: +380 44 581 7777
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About the Firm

Established in 1992, Vasil Kisil & Partners is a Ukrainian law firm that delivers integrated legal advice in banking & finance, mergers & acquisitions, capital markets, antitrust, competition and trade, dispute resolution, tax law, energy and natural resources law, intellectual property law, labor and employment law, real estate and construction law, as well as PPP, concessions and infrastructure law.

The firm`s clients include such world-known companies as Alpcot Agro, Africa-Israel Group, Astellas Pharma, BASF, Bayer Consumer, BNP Paribas, British American Tobacco, Central European Media Enterprises, Coca Cola, Credit Agricole Group, Danone, Dell Inc., Du Pont, Energy Standard Group, Eurosport, Google, IKB Deutsche Industriebank, LG Electronics, Leroy Merlin Ukraine, Lukoil, Metso Automation Oy, Moody’s, Mott MacDonald Limited, NCH Capital, Novacke chemicke zavody, Opel, Philips, Pioneer, Red Bull, Russian Standard Bank, St. Sophia Homes, SEB AB, SEB Group, Swedbank AB, Seven Hills, Shell, Standard Charted Bank, Tchibo, UniCredit Group, Vanco International / Vanco Energy, Volkswagen, VympelCom, YouTube.