Fill required elements and other metadata for company records

[baltpeter]

Our database has many company records but unfortunately, most of them lack required elements. The required elements specify the identification data that users need to send with GDPR requests to a company (see here for more details). This means that our generator will have to fallback to the default elements (name, email address and address) which don't make sense in all cases.

The purpose of this issue is to fill the required elements and some other metadata for more companies. This is a great first issue that doesn't require a lot of experience with programming or the GDPR. Don't be intimidated by the long text in this issue—the process really isn't hard, I have just described it in a lot of detail for new contributors. :)

As an example, see the changes that I have recently made to the record for GoDaddy. Here's how it works:

1. Pick one company (or more) that may hold data on you and that doesn't have required elements yet.

2. Make a first guess of the data the company might need to identify you. Typically, this might be your name (this is always needed), your email address, your physical address or a customer number. For this first guess, try to pick the smallest possible amount of data—we don't want to voluntarily send companies unnecessary data.

   For my GoDaddy example, I have picked my name and the email address that I used to register with them.

3. Send an access request to the company and include the identification data you chose in step 2.

   We of course recommend using our generator for this as it makes this super easy but you can also use our sample letter.

4. Wait for the company to reply. Now, there's two possibilities:

   • The data you provided was enough for the company to identify you. Great! This means you now know the required elements that we are looking for.
   • The company may also request additional identification data. In this case, these additional elements will need to be added to the required elements.

   If the company tells you that certain elements are not necessary, please of course don't include them. If the response from the company was not clear, you can also just ask them for the required identification data.

   In my case, GoDaddy requested additional details, namely my customer number and "shopper PIN". They also asked for my preferred method of contact. This isn't strictly identification data but I will still include it as it is a required element for all requests.

5. Now that you know the required elements, you need to put them into our JSON format. We recommend using our JSON generator for this purpose (feel free to ignore the other questions and the warning about an incomplete record).
   If the company offers its services in one particular language, please use that language for the element descriptions. Otherwise please use English.

   In my case, the required elements look like this:

    "required-elements": [
        {
            "desc": "Name",
            "type": "name",
            "optional": false
        },
        {
            "desc": "Email",
            "type": "email",
            "optional": false
        },
        {
            "desc": "Preferred method of contact",
            "type": "input",
            "optional": false
        },
        {
            "desc": "GoDaddy Customer No.",
            "type": "input",
            "optional": false
        },
        {
            "desc": "GoDaddy Shopper PIN",
            "type": "input",
            "optional": false
        }
    ]

   Add those required elements to the company record. They belong directly under the sources.

6. Did the company ask you to send an ID document (a copy of your passport or similar)? If so, please set "needs-id-document": true. Otherwise, please set "needs-id-document": false.

7. Now is a great time to check the other data included in the record. Sometimes, the replies from companies include more contact details than they list on their website. If you notice anything that is missing or incorrect, it would be great if you also incorporated these changes.

8. Finally, please set "quality": "tested" if it isn't already to indicate that someone (you) has successfully sent a request using the information in the record.

9. Optional, but useful for our users: Write a short comment on the corresponding company page on our website. Describe your request experience: How fast did they reply? Did they send you everything immediately or did they miss something? How did they respond (E-Mail, letter, ...)

[panoreak]

Hi, can I work on this issue?

[baltpeter]

@panoreak Sure, thanks!

[Hardik0307]

Also want to work on this @baltpeter during Hacktober'20.

[Hardik0307]

Hello @baltpeter,

I send an access request with name, mail, and country to bbc.

They responded with

We deal with data privacy queries for these entities only.  We will not respond to other queries.

 

Privacy queries, complaints and exercising your privacy rights


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I am in little doubt that have they approved?

[baltpeter]

That is indeed quite a weird response, @Hardik0307. It seems like they want you to clarify in which you have interacted with them before to narrow the scope of your request.

[Hardik0307]

yes, it is weird @baltpeter .
for safety and the inappropriate response, I'll shift to another company.

[agarwalBinay18]

can I work on this issue?

[baltpeter]

@agarwalBinay18 Sure, just pick a company (or multiple ones) and submit a PR. :)

[imrishabh18]

@baltpeter Should I even make a PR for this?😃

[baltpeter]

@imrishabh18 Sure, if you want to. :D

[muskanlalit18]

Can I work on this as well?

[baltpeter]

@muskanlalit18 Sure, there's plenty of companies for everyone.