In today’s data-driven world, privacy laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have increased the importance of Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs). Under Article 15 of the GDPR, individuals have the “Right of Access,” which allows them to request information on what personal data an organization holds and how it is used. For businesses, this means having efficient, defensible, and repeatable workflows to respond to these requests in a timely manner.
Understanding DSARs and Their Requirements
DSARs—also referred to as privacy requests or consumer privacy requests—allow individuals to:
- Access their personal data held by a company.
- Understand how their data is potentially being utilised.
- Verify whether their data has been part of a breach or contains outdated or incorrect information.
- Request correction or deletion of their personal data (e.g., exercise the right to be forgotten)
For organizations, responding to DSARs involves providing a comprehensive summary of all relevant data. This task can be particularly challenging given the growing number of requests, tight timelines and the need to maintain accuracy and compliance.
Challenges of Managing DSARs
Handling DSARs can be daunting without a streamlined process. Common challenges include:
- Volume of Requests: Companies with extensive data holdings may receive numerous requests annually.
- Tight Deadlines: Legal requirements mandate prompt responses, leaving little room for delays.
- Manual Processes: Traditional workflows often rely on manual effort, making them time-consuming and error-prone.
- Reputational Risk: A poorly handled DSAR can harm an organization’s credibility and lead to regulatory penalties.
This is where Everlaw’s advanced eDiscovery platform becomes invaluable, offering tools and features that simplify the DSAR process while ensuring compliance and efficiency.
How Everlaw Optimizes DSAR Workflows
1. Speed
Fast Data Processing
Everlaw can process up to 900,000 documents per hour, allowing organizations to handle large DSARs with ease. This rapid ingestion and production capability drastically reduces response times and alleviates administrative burdens.
2. Ease of Use
Intuitive Interface
Everlaw’s consumer-grade interface makes it simple for both technical and non-technical users to navigate the platform. Teams can get started in minutes, reducing training time and enhancing productivity.
Drag-and-Drop Data Loading
Loading data into Everlaw is as easy as dragging and dropping files. This functionality ensures accessibility for all team members, regardless of technical expertise.
3. Workflow Efficiency
Search Term Reports
Teams can run multiple content, and metadata searches simultaneously to drastically reduce document volume and isolate only the most relevant data.
Automated Redactions
Everlaw’s batch redaction tools help teams efficiently identify and redact personal data, ensuring GDPR compliance while saving time and reducing errors.
4. Collaborative Tools
Team Sharing
Everlaw facilitates collaboration by allowing teams to share findings internally before producing documents for the DSAR requester, ensuring accuracy and consistency.
Storybuilder™
While most organizations will ultimately deliver DSAR responses via PDF production, Storybuilder allows teams to create structured narratives and chronologies. Its flexible output options—secure links, platform access, or PDFs—also make it particularly valuable for related use cases, such as employment tribunals or litigation stemming from DSARs.
5. Project Templating
Customizable Templates
Everlaw’s project templates simplify the DSAR process by providing pre-configured permissions, coding rules, and production protocols. These templates ensure consistency across requests and reduce setup time.
6. All-Inclusive Pricing
Transparent Costs
With Everlaw’s all-inclusive pricing, organizations can predict costs from the moment data is loaded, ensuring no surprises in the budget.
Addressing Unique DSAR Needs
1. Employment DSARs
Employment DSARs are often large and complex, involving unstructured data like emails and documents. These requests may also serve as the foundation for Employment Tribunal cases. Everlaw’s advanced tools simplify the processing of unstructured data, ensuring thorough and defensible responses.
2. Customer DSARs
Customer DSARs are typically more frequent and often involve structured data from relational databases. However, unstructured data—such as emails, documents, and chat messages—is becoming increasingly common in these requests. Everlaw is particularly well-suited for complex or long-running DSARs involving unstructured data, offering advanced search, targeted reporting, and extraction capabilities that streamline response workflows.
Conclusion
Everlaw empowers organizations to handle DSARs with speed, accuracy, and compliance. Its intuitive consumer-grade interface, collaborative tools, and automated workflows streamline the entire process, helping legal teams respond to privacy requests efficiently while minimizing risks.
