MENU
Scenario 5:
Recpond is a German employment recruiting company. Their services are delivered globally and include consulting and staffing solutions. In the beginning. Recpond provided its services through an office in Germany. Today, they have grown to become one of the largest recruiting agencies, providing employment to more than 500,000 people around the world. Recpond receives most applications through its website. Job searchers are required to provide the job title and location. Then, a list of job opportunities is provided. When a job position is selected, candidates are required to provide their contact details and professional work experience records. During the process, they are informed that the information will be used only for the purposes and period determined by Recpond. Recpond's experts analyze candidates' profiles and applications and choose the candidates that are suitable for the job position. The list of the selected candidates is then delivered to Recpond's clients, who proceed with the recruitment process. Files of candidates that are not selected are stored in Recpond's databases, including the personal data of candidates who withdraw the consent on which the processing was based. When the GDPR came into force, the company was unprepared. The top management appointed a DPO and consulted him for all data protection issues. The DPO, on the other hand, reported the progress of all data protection activities to the top management. Considering the level of sensitivity of the personal data processed by Recpond, the DPO did not have direct access to the personal data of all clients, unless the top management deemed it necessary. The DPO planned the GDPR implementation by initially analyzing the applicable GDPR requirements. Recpond, on the other hand, initiated a risk assessment to understand the risks associated with processing operations. The risk assessment was conducted based on common risks that employment recruiting companies face. After analyzing different risk scenarios, the level of risk was determined and evaluated. The results were presented to the DPO, who then decided to analyze only the risks that have a greater impact on the company. The DPO concluded that the cost required for treating most of the identified risks was higher than simply accepting them. Based on this analysis, the DPO decided to accept the actual level of the identified risks. After reviewing policies and procedures of the company. Recpond established a new data protection policy. As proposed by the DPO, the information security policy was also updated. These changes were then communicated to all employees of Recpond. Based on this scenario, answer the following Questio n:
Questio n:
Recpond stores files of candidates who are not selected in its databases, even if they withdraw consent. Is this acceptable under GDPR?
Under Article 17 of GDPR (Right to Erasure), data subjects have the right to request deletion of their personal data when consent is withdrawn, unless a legal obligation or legitimate interest requires retention.
Option A is correct because Recpond must erase personal data if consent is withdrawn and no other lawful basis exists.
Option B is incorrect because GDPR requires deletion, not just stopping processing.
Option C is incorrect because organizations cannot retain data for future purposes without an explicit legal basis.
Option D is incorrect because statistical use must involve anonymization, which is not mentioned in Recpond's process.
GDPR Article 17(1)(b) (Right to be forgotten when consent is withdrawn)
Recital 65 (Obligation to erase personal data when processing is no longer necessary)