The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the European data protection regulation adopted by the EU Commission to replace the EU Data Protection Directive, also known as Directive 95/46/EC. GDPR took effect on May 25th, 2018. The regulation expands upon and replaces the EU Data Protection and Privacy rules with a more comprehensive framework that dictates how the personal information of EU data subjects is used, stored, transmitted, protected, and codified. The GDPR applies to both individuals and businesses and regulates the way in which personal data of citizens in the European Union should be handled. The GDPR also requires that businesses share with the EU data subject how personal data is being handled; respond to certain data subject requests about that data; and handle such with proper security controls. The regulation also sets a standard for how that data is shared with other controllers and processors and sets guidelines for use or transfer of that information in countries with different laws and regulations regarding data use and transfer. A copy of the text of GDPR can be found here.

Our policies regarding data ownership and protection are focused on providing you with confidence that your data remains secure, and under your control. We have established a number of measures to ensure that customers and their data are treated in a manner consistent with privacy principles.

Our Commitment

At rareLife, we are committed to ensuring the security and protection of the personal information that we process, and to provide a compliant and consistent approach to data protection. We have always had a robust and effective data protection program in place which complies with existing law and abides by the data protection principles. However, we recognize our obligations in updating and expanding this program to meet the demands of the GDPR and the Data Protection Bill.

We are dedicated to safeguarding the personal information under our remit and in developing a data protection regime that is effective, fit for purpose and demonstrates an understanding of, and appreciation for the GDPR. Our preparation and objectives for GDPR compliance have been summarized in this statement and include the development and implementation of new data protection roles, policies, procedures, controls and measures to ensure maximum and ongoing compliance.

How is rareLife Preparing for the GDPR

rareLife already has a consistent level of data protection and security across our organization, however it is our aim to be fully compliant with the GDPR.

Our preparation includes: –

• Information Audit – We are carrying out a company-wide information audit to identify and assess what personal information we hold, where it comes from, how and why it is processed and if and to whom it is disclosed. This will be an iterative process reviewed on an annual basis.
• Policies & Procedures – At rareLife, we are revising/implementing new data protection policies and procedures to meet the requirements and standards of the GDPR and any relevant data protection laws, including: –
  • Data Protection – Our main policy and procedure document for data protection has been overhauled to meet the standards and requirements of the GDPR. Accountability and governance measures are in place to ensure that we understand and adequately disseminate and evidence our obligations and responsibilities; with a dedicated focus on privacy by design and the rights of individuals. (Site Privacy Policy)
  • Data Retention & Erasure – We are working on having erasure procedures to meet the new ‘Right to Erasure’ obligation and are aware of when this and other data subject’s rights apply; along with any exemptions, response timeframes and notification responsibilities.
  • Data Breaches – Our data breach procedures ensure that we have safeguards and measures in place to identify, assess, investigate and report any personal data breach at the earliest possible time. Our procedures are robust and have been disseminated to all employees, making them aware of the reporting lines and steps to follow.
  • Data Transference – When rareLife collects a data subject’s personal information it avoids sharing that information with any vendor, third party, contractor or other type of outside service, unless either required by law or as part of our internal processes which sometimes include external providers. The information is stored in our systems and is not transferred outside of our network to any controllers or sub processors without explicit permission from our clients. rareLife never sells personal data to other companies, and to the extent it is ever shared, it is only to complete the purpose for which the data was acquired. All of our vendors must have procedures in place that protect any data that is shared with them.
  • International Data Transfers & Third-Party Disclosures – Where rareLife stores or transfers personal information outside the EU, we have robust procedures and safeguarding measures in place to secure, encrypt and maintain the integrity of the data. Our procedures include a continual review of the countries with sufficient adequacy decisions, as well as provisions for binding corporate rules; standard data protection clauses or approved codes of conduct for those countries without. We carry out strict due diligence checks with all recipients of personal data to assess and verify that they have appropriate safeguards in place to protect the information, ensure enforceable data subject rights and have effective legal remedies for data subjects where applicable.
  • Subject Access Request (SAR) – We are diligently working on our SAR procedures to accommodate the revised 30-day timeframe for providing the requested information and making this provision free of charge. Our new procedures detail how to verify the data subject, what steps to take for processing an access request, what exemptions apply and a suite of response templates to ensure that communications with data subjects are compliant, consistent and adequate.

• Legal Basis for Processing – We are reviewing all processing activities to identify the legal basis for processing and ensure that each basis is appropriate for the activity it relates to. Where applicable, we also maintain records of our processing activities, ensuring that our obligations under Article 30 of the GDPR and Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Bill are met.
• Privacy Notice/Policy – We have revised our Privacy Notice(s) to comply with the GDPR, ensuring that all individuals whose personal information we process have been informed of why we need it, how it is used, what their rights are, who the information is disclosed to and what safeguarding measures are in place to protect their information.
• Obtaining Consent – We have incorporated consent mechanisms for obtaining personal data, ensuring that individuals understand what they are providing, why and how we use it and giving clear, defined ways to consent to us processing their information. We have developed stringent processes for recording consent, making sure that we can evidence an affirmative opt-in, along with time and date records; and an easy to see and access way to withdraw consent at any time.
• Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) –We are in the process of developing stringent procedures and assessment templates for carrying out impact assessments that comply fully with the GDPR’s Article 35 requirements. Our goal is to document processes that record each assessment, allow us to rate the risk posed by the processing activity and implement mitigating measures to reduce the risk posed to the data subject(s).
• Processor Agreements – where we use any third-party to process personal information on our behalf (i.e. Payroll, Recruitment, Hosting etc.), we have drafted compliant Processor Agreements and due diligence procedures to ensure that they (as well as we), meet and understand their/our GDPR obligations. These measures include initial and ongoing reviews of the service provided, the necessity of the processing activity, the technical and organizational measures in place and compliance with the GDPR.
• Special Categories Data – where we obtain and process any special category information, we do so in complete compliance with the Article 9 requirements and have high-level encryptions and protections on all such data. Special category data is only processed where necessary and is only processed where we have first identified the appropriate Article 9(2) basis or the Data Protection Bill Schedule 1 condition. Where we rely on consent for processing, this is explicit with the right to modify or remove consent being clearly signposted.

Data Subject Rights

In addition to the policies and procedures mentioned above that ensure individuals can enforce their data protection rights, we provide easy to access information via (our website, in the office, during induction etc.) of an individual’s right to access any personal information that rareLife processes about them and to request information about: –

• What personal data we hold about them
• The purposes of the processing
• The categories of personal data concerned
• The recipients to whom the personal data has/will be disclosed
• How long we intend to store their personal data for
• If we did not collect the data directly from them, information about the source
• The right to have incomplete or inaccurate data about them corrected or completed and the process for making this request
• The right to request erasure of personal data (where applicable) or to restrict processing in accordance with data protection laws, as well as to object to any direct marketing from us and to be informed about any automated decision-making that we use
• The right to lodge a complaint or seek judicial remedy and who to contact in such instances

Information Security & Technical and Organizational Measures

rareLife solutions takes the privacy and security of individuals and their personal information very seriously and take every reasonable measure and precaution to protect and secure the personal data that we process. We have robust information security policies and procedures in place to protect personal information such as SSL, access controls, password policy, encryptions and IT.

If you have any privacy-related questions/concerns, feel free to reach out to us. This same contact information can be used for questions related to data subject access requests, portability, erasure, etc. The contact information is as follows:

rareLife solutions
Attention: Privacy
606 Post Road East, #397
Westport, CT 06880
Telephone (844) 663- 8642
E-mail: [email protected]

We are constantly improving our policies and procedures to adhere to the standard and to go a step further to ensure all data we collect is properly protected.

We strive to be transparent with how we are collecting data regarding our customers and providing information to them on the data that we currently have. All our teams work to ensure that the data collected is only what is needed to provide the best service and utilizes data subjects’ information for the purpose of fulfilling those services only.

Last Updated: September 12, 2019
rareLife solutions, Inc.
606 Post Road East, #397
Westport, CT 06880
[email protected]
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