Thriving privacy success:
a leading media group's journey with caralegal

Introduction

ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE is a hub of popular entertainment and infotainment, making it a significant player in the German media landscape. Its diverse portfolio of entertainment offerings is complemented by digital consumer brands in the Commerce & Ventures and Dating & Video segments, reaching a broad audience.

 Stephan Tawin has been with ProSiebenSat.1 for over 25 years, serving as Group Data Protection Officer for the corporate holding. He collaborates closely with the decentralized data protection officers appointed at the company level across relevant subsidiaries. Through his extensive experience within the ProSiebenSat.1 Group, Stephan has developed a profound understanding of the data protection requirements in the dynamic media industry. Today, he offers insights into his role and his collaboration with caralegal.

Challenge

Data protection holds a central role at ProSiebenSat.1 Group, especially given the ongoing digitalization and the emergence of new business models across Entertainment, Dating & Video, and Commerce & Ventures.

These developments mean that more and more personal data from viewers, online users, and customers are being processed in various ways. According to Stephan Tawin, the primary goal is to protect privacy and the right to informational self-determination. This translates to handling personal data lawfully and carefully, ensuring it remains secure and free from misuse.

"The biggest challenge in implementing data protection lies in balancing the use of data to enhance our services with compliance with data protection regulations.”


As the Group Data Protection Officer of a large media company, Stephan Tawin's responsibilities are extensive. He provides cross-departmental guidance to the board, management, and employees on data protection issues, monitors compliance with legal data protection requirements, and supports various divisions and subsidiaries on a range of data protection matters.

In his role, Stephan focuses on developing and overseeing data protection standards and procedures. He also ensures the provision and updating of central data protection policies, as well as creating and maintaining internal resources and templates. To facilitate this, he oversees training initiatives, evaluates data protection practices within the group, and handles the assessment and resolution of data protection incidents as part of centralized incident management.

Stephan Tawin’s duties also include the strategic oversight of group-wide projects across diverse business areas and providing a central data protection management software to meet documentation requirements. In close collaboration with Group Compliance and Legal Affairs, he works to establish a consistent level of data protection across the company—a task for which he relies on caralegal’s data protection management software.

Solution

caralegal’s Data Responsibility Platform makes it easy to meticulously document all data protection compliance requirements. Moreover, the software allows for efficient management of data protection compliance across organizational boundaries, ensuring a consistent approach. These features were key reasons why Stephan Tawin chose caralegal as the data protection management software for ProSiebenSat.1.

In addition, caralegal enables a consistent level of documentation across all subsidiaries, offering user-friendly access for different departments, task assignments, follow-ups, and comments directly within the tool. Stephan Tawin and his team can also rely on caralegal to keep data protection documentation up-to-date with regular reviews.
The seamless integration of caralegal into the complex corporate structure was achieved through a phased migration project, completed within nine months. Each division was gradually onboarded, with comprehensive training sessions for both users and specialists.

“The implementation of the caralegal data protection management software across our group was a significant step, further reinforced by a mandatory usage resolution.”


Project responsibility rested with ProSiebenSat.1 Tech Solutions (PTS), the internal technical service provider. Their expertise and commitment were pivotal to the project’s success. Close collaboration allowed for the precise definition and implementation of technical requirements, ensuring optimal functionality and integration of the software.

Through this partnership, caralegal also addressed the challenge of differing documentation styles. Across the wide range of processing scenarios within the group and its subsidiaries, documentation was successfully standardized.

“Feedback from our departments and subsidiaries has been consistently positive. The intuitive user interface of caralegal and the noticeable simplification of workflows have been particularly well-received.”

Outlook

According to Stephan Tawin, the implementation of caralegal has significantly enhanced the management and monitoring of documentation obligations. caralegal allows for the structured, centralized capture of all critical information, boosting transparency and traceability of data protection documentation across the entire group.

Additionally, caralegal has simplified the monitoring and documentation of data processing activities at the operational level.

Stephan Tawin particularly highlights caralegal's integrated communication and task management features, which have greatly increased efficiency in data protection management. Its help functions provide intuitive guidance for documentation, making processes smoother.

“The primary advantage of caralegal lies in its centralized documentation capabilities, which facilitate efficient management and seamless reporting, greatly simplifying compliance with data protection regulations.”


These features not only increase the efficiency of data protection management but also improve the quality of data protection processes within the organization—now and for the future.