On 3 December 2024, the EDPB announced in a news item that the Board has approved the Brand Compliance certification criteria for processing activities by controllers or processors. The approval means that these criteria are applicable throughout Europe and as a European Data Protection Seal.
Approval
After an extensive international assessment process, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has approved GDPR Certification Standard and Criteria BC 5701:2024 as the European Data Protection Seal. This means that all European supervisors share the opinion that the application of this standard leads to a demonstrably appropriate implementation of the GDPR.
As a result, this also allows European companies, after accreditation, to demonstrate their compliance with the GDPR by being certified according to this standard.
BC 5701
More than a year ago, in October 2023, the Dutch Data Protection Authority already approved the GDPR Certification Standard and Criteria BC 5701:2023 for the Dutch market. This 2023 version is currently in the application phase for accreditation with the Dutch Accreditation Council.
When the accreditation process for version 2023 has been completed, an application for accreditation will also be submitted for version 2024. Accreditation is important to be able to officially demonstrate that there is justified confidence that the specified requirements of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 are met.
Development and approval process
The diagram below shows the development and approval process of the standard.
Why choose BC 5701 certification?
The European Data Protection Seal shows recognition and trust in your organization. Companies that certify themselves for BC 5701 demonstrate that they meet the GDPR requirements and strengthen their reliability with stakeholders.
Would you like to know more about the content of the BC 5701 standard? Request the free BC 5701 whitepaper: