You would expect that a social enterprise with a mission to achieve effective corporate transparency would have a corporate transparency FAQ, so here it is.
What is the definition of corporate transparency?
Corporate transparency describes the extent to which a corporation's actions are observable by outsiders. This is a consequence of regulation, local norms, and the set of information, privacy, and business policies concerning corporate decision-making and operations openness to employees, stakeholders, shareholders and the general public. From the perspective of outsiders, transparency can be defined simply as the perceived quality of intentionally shared information from the corporation.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_transparency
What is radical transparency?
Radical transparency is a phrase used across fields of governance, politics, software design and business to describe actions and approaches that radically increase the openness of organizational process and data. Its usage was originally understood as an approach or act that uses abundant networked information to access previously confidential organizational process or outcome data.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_transparency
Does GDPR conflict with efforts to achieve corporate transparency?
No. GDPR relates to personal data rather than corporate data. Additionally, personal data about directors is exempted as explained below.
Director Identities on Companies House
Here is a helpful explanation from Digital Content Manager of Companies House, Jonathan Moyle:
"Under section 163 of the Companies Act 2006, a director must register their date of birth (plus other details) when they're appointed. The company must then send this information to Companies House under section 167.
We have a duty to register this information and make it available to the public. For directors appointed after 10 October 2015, only the month and year from their date of birth will be publicly available.
The GDPR allows an exemption under Schedule 2, Part 1 (5) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption applies to Companies House because we must make information about registered companies available to the public under the Companies Act 2006."
Source: https://companieshouse.blog.gov.uk/2019/06/11/how-were-reforming-the-com...
