interactive GDPR 2016/0679 EN

‘ personal_data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person;

(2)

‘ processing’ means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal_data or on sets of personal_data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction;

(3)	‘restriction of processing’ means the marking of stored personal_data with the aim of limiting their processing in the future;

(4)

‘ profiling’ means any form of automated processing of personal_data consisting of the use of personal_data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyse or predict aspects concerning that natural person's performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behaviour, location or movements;

(5)

‘ pseudonymisation’ means the processing of personal_data in such a manner that the personal_data can no longer be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, provided that such additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organisational measures to ensure that the personal_data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person;

(6)	‘ filing_system’ means any structured set of personal_data which are accessible according to specific criteria, whether centralised, decentralised or dispersed on a functional or geographical basis;

(7)

‘ controller’ means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal_data; where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by Union or Member State law, the controller or the specific criteria for its nomination may be provided for by Union or Member State law;

(8)	‘ processor’ means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal_data on behalf of the controller;

(9)

‘ recipient’ means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or another body, to which the personal_data are disclosed, whether a third_party or not. However, public authorities which may receive personal_data in the framework of a particular inquiry in accordance with Union or Member State law shall not be regarded as recipients; the processing of those data by those public authorities shall be in compliance with the applicable data protection rules according to the purposes of the processing;

(10)	‘ third_party’ means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or body other than the data subject, controller, processor and persons who, under the direct authority of the controller or processor, are authorised to process personal_data;

(11)	‘ consent’ of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject's wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal_data relating to him or her;

(12)	‘ personal_data breach’ means a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal_data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed;

(13)

‘ genetic_data’ means personal_data relating to the inherited or acquired genetic characteristics of a natural person which give unique information about the physiology or the health of that natural person and which result, in particular, from an analysis of a biological sample from the natural person in question;

(14)	‘ biometric_data’ means personal_data resulting from specific technical processing relating to the physical, physiological or behavioural characteristics of a natural person, which allow or confirm the unique identification of that natural person, such as facial images or dactyloscopic data;

(15)	‘ data_concerning_health’ means personal_data related to the physical or mental health of a natural person, including the provision of health care services, which reveal information about his or her health status;

(16)

‘ main_establishment’ means:

(a)

as regards a controller with establishments in more than one Member State, the place of its central administration in the Union, unless the decisions on the purposes and means of the processing of personal_data are taken in another establishment of the controller in the Union and the latter establishment has the power to have such decisions implemented, in which case the establishment having taken such decisions is to be considered to be the main_establishment;

(b)

as regards a processor with establishments in more than one Member State, the place of its central administration in the Union, or, if the processor has no central administration in the Union, the establishment of the processor in the Union where the main processing activities in the context of the activities of an establishment of the processor take place to the extent that the processor is subject to specific obligations under this Regulation;

(17)	‘ representative’ means a natural or legal person established in the Union who, designated by the controller or processor in writing pursuant to Article 27, represents the controller or processor with regard to their respective obligations under this Regulation;

(18)	‘ enterprise’ means a natural or legal person engaged in an economic activity, irrespective of its legal form, including partnerships or associations regularly engaged in an economic activity;

(19)	‘ group_of_undertakings’ means a controlling undertaking and its controlled undertakings;

(20)

‘ binding_corporate_rules’ means personal_data protection policies which are adhered to by a controller or processor established on the territory of a Member State for transfers or a set of transfers of personal_data to a controller or processor in one or more third countries within a group_of_undertakings, or group of enterprises engaged in a joint economic activity;

(21)	‘ supervisory_authority’ means an independent public authority which is established by a Member State pursuant to Article 51;

(22)

‘ supervisory_authority concerned’ means a supervisory_authority which is concerned by the processing of personal_data because:

(a)	the controller or processor is established on the territory of the Member State of that supervisory_authority;

(b)	data subjects residing in the Member State of that supervisory_authority are substantially affected or likely to be substantially affected by the processing; or

(c)	a complaint has been lodged with that supervisory_authority;

(23)

‘cross-border processing’ means either:

(a)	processing of personal_data which takes place in the context of the activities of establishments in more than one Member State of a controller or processor in the Union where the controller or processor is established in more than one Member State; or

(b)	processing of personal_data which takes place in the context of the activities of a single establishment of a controller or processor in the Union but which substantially affects or is likely to substantially affect data subjects in more than one Member State.

(24)

‘ relevant_and_reasoned_objection’ means an objection to a draft decision as to whether there is an infringement of this Regulation, or whether envisaged action in relation to the controller or processor complies with this Regulation, which clearly demonstrates the significance of the risks posed by the draft decision as regards the fundamental rights and freedoms of data subjects and, where applicable, the free flow of personal_data within the Union;

(25)	‘ information_society_service’ means a service as defined in point (b) of Article 1(1) of Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council (19);

(26)	‘ international_organisation’ means an organisation and its subordinate bodies governed by public international law, or any other body which is set up by, or on the basis of, an agreement between two or more countries.

CHAPTER II

Principles

Article 6

Lawfulness of processing

1. Processing shall be lawful only if and to the extent that at least one of the following applies:

(a)	the data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal_data for one or more specific purposes;

(b)	processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract;

(c)	processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject;

(d)	processing is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person;

(e)	processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller;

(f)

processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third_party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal_data, in particular where the data subject is a child.

Point (f) of the first subparagraph shall not apply to processing carried out by public authorities in the performance of their tasks.

2. Member States may maintain or introduce more specific provisions to adapt the application of the rules of this Regulation with regard to processing for compliance with points (c) and (e) of paragraph 1 by determining more precisely specific requirements for the processing and other measures to ensure lawful and fair processing including for other specific processing situations as provided for in Chapter IX.

3. The basis for the processing referred to in point (c) and (e) of paragraph 1 shall be laid down by:

(a)	Union law; or

(b)	Member State law to which the controller is subject.

The purpose of the processing shall be determined in that legal basis or, as regards the processing referred to in point (e) of paragraph 1, shall be necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller. That legal basis may contain specific provisions to adapt the application of rules of this Regulation, inter alia: the general conditions governing the lawfulness of processing by the controller; the types of data which are subject to the processing; the data subjects concerned; the entities to, and the purposes for which, the personal_data may be disclosed; the purpose limitation; storage periods; and processing operations and processing procedures, including measures to ensure lawful and fair processing such as those for other specific processing situations as provided for in Chapter IX. The Union or the Member State law shall meet an objective of public interest and be proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued.

4. Where the processing for a purpose other than that for which the personal_data have been collected is not based on the data subject's consent or on a Union or Member State law which constitutes a necessary and proportionate measure in a democratic society to safeguard the objectives referred to in Article 23(1), the controller shall, in order to ascertain whether processing for another purpose is compatible with the purpose for which the personal_data are initially collected, take into account, inter alia:

(a)	any link between the purposes for which the personal_data have been collected and the purposes of the intended further processing;

(b)	the context in which the personal_data have been collected, in particular regarding the relationship between data subjects and the controller;

(c)	the nature of the personal_data, in particular whether special categories of personal_data are processed, pursuant to Article 9, or whether personal_data related to criminal convictions and offences are processed, pursuant to Article 10;

(d)	the possible consequences of the intended further processing for data subjects;

(e)	the existence of appropriate safeguards, which may include encryption or pseudonymisation.

Article 8

Conditions applicable to child's consent in relation to information_society_services

1. Where point (a) of Article 6(1) applies, in relation to the offer of information_society_services directly to a child, the processing of the personal_data of a child shall be lawful where the child is at least 16 years old. Where the child is below the age of 16 years, such processing shall be lawful only if and to the extent that consent is given or authorised by the holder of parental responsibility over the child.

Member States may provide by law for a lower age for those purposes provided that such lower age is not below 13 years.

2. The controller shall make reasonable efforts to verify in such cases that consent is given or authorised by the holder of parental responsibility over the child, taking into consideration available technology.

3. Paragraph 1 shall not affect the general contract law of Member States such as the rules on the validity, formation or effect of a contract in relation to a child.

Article 12

Transparent information, communication and modalities for the exercise of the rights of the data subject

1. The controller shall take appropriate measures to provide any information referred to in Articles 13 and 14 and any communication under Articles 15 to 22 and 34 relating to processing to the data subject in a concise, transparent, intelligible and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language, in particular for any information addressed specifically to a child. The information shall be provided in writing, or by other means, including, where appropriate, by electronic means. When requested by the data subject, the information may be provided orally, provided that the identity of the data subject is proven by other means.

2. The controller shall facilitate the exercise of data subject rights under Articles 15 to 22. In the cases referred to in Article 11(2), the controller shall not refuse to act on the request of the data subject for exercising his or her rights under Articles 15 to 22, unless the controller demonstrates that it is not in a position to identify the data subject.

3. The controller shall provide information on action taken on a request under Articles 15 to 22 to the data subject without undue delay and in any event within one month of receipt of the request. That period may be extended by two further months where necessary, taking into account the complexity and number of the requests. The controller shall inform the data subject of any such extension within one month of receipt of the request, together with the reasons for the delay. Where the data subject makes the request by electronic form means, the information shall be provided by electronic means where possible, unless otherwise requested by the data subject.

4. If the controller does not take action on the request of the data subject, the controller shall inform the data subject without delay and at the latest within one month of receipt of the request of the reasons for not taking action and on the possibility of lodging a complaint with a supervisory_authority and seeking a judicial remedy.

5. Information provided under Articles 13 and 14 and any communication and any actions taken under Articles 15 to 22 and 34 shall be provided free of charge. Where requests from a data subject are manifestly unfounded or excessive, in particular because of their repetitive character, the controller may either:

(a)	charge a reasonable fee taking into account the administrative costs of providing the information or communication or taking the action requested; or

(b)	refuse to act on the request.

The controller shall bear the burden of demonstrating the manifestly unfounded or excessive character of the request.

6. Without prejudice to Article 11, where the controller has reasonable doubts concerning the identity of the natural person making the request referred to in Articles 15 to 21, the controller may request the provision of additional information necessary to confirm the identity of the data subject.

7. The information to be provided to data subjects pursuant to Articles 13 and 14 may be provided in combination with standardised icons in order to give in an easily visible, intelligible and clearly legible manner a meaningful overview of the intended processing. Where the icons are presented electronically they shall be machine-readable.

8. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 92 for the purpose of determining the information to be presented by the icons and the procedures for providing standardised icons.

Section 2

Information and access to personal_data

Article 17

Right to erasure (‘right to be forgotten’)

1. The data subject shall have the right to obtain from the controller the erasure of personal_data concerning him or her without undue delay and the controller shall have the obligation to erase personal_data without undue delay where one of the following grounds applies:

(a)	the personal_data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed;

(b)	the data subject withdraws consent on which the processing is based according to point (a) of Article 6(1), or point (a) of Article 9(2), and where there is no other legal ground for the processing;

(c)	the data subject objects to the processing pursuant to Article 21(1) and there are no overriding legitimate grounds for the processing, or the data subject objects to the processing pursuant to Article 21(2);

(d)	the personal_data have been unlawfully processed;

(e)	the personal_data have to be erased for compliance with a legal obligation in Union or Member State law to which the controller is subject;

(f)	the personal_data have been collected in relation to the offer of information_society_services referred to in Article 8(1).

2. Where the controller has made the personal_data public and is obliged pursuant to paragraph 1 to erase the personal_data, the controller, taking account of available technology and the cost of implementation, shall take reasonable steps, including technical measures, to inform controllers which are processing the personal_data that the data subject has requested the erasure by such controllers of any links to, or copy or replication of, those personal_data.

3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to the extent that processing is necessary:

(a)	for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information;

(b)	for compliance with a legal obligation which requires processing by Union or Member State law to which the controller is subject or for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller;

(c)	for reasons of public interest in the area of public health in accordance with points (h) and (i) of Article 9(2) as well as Article 9(3);

(d)

for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) in so far as the right referred to in paragraph 1 is likely to render impossible or seriously impair the achievement of the objectives of that processing; or

(e)	for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Article 18

Right to restriction of processing

1. The data subject shall have the right to obtain from the controller restriction of processing where one of the following applies:

(a)	the accuracy of the personal_data is contested by the data subject, for a period enabling the controller to verify the accuracy of the personal_data;

(b)	the processing is unlawful and the data subject opposes the erasure of the personal_data and requests the restriction of their use instead;

(c)	the controller no longer needs the personal_data for the purposes of the processing, but they are required by the data subject for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims;

(d)	the data subject has objected to processing pursuant to Article 21(1) pending the verification whether the legitimate grounds of the controller override those of the data subject.

2. Where processing has been restricted under paragraph 1, such personal_data shall, with the exception of storage, only be processed with the data subject's consent or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person or for reasons of important public interest of the Union or of a Member State.

3. A data subject who has obtained restriction of processing pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be informed by the controller before the restriction of processing is lifted.

Article 21

Right to object

1. The data subject shall have the right to object, on grounds relating to his or her particular situation, at any time to processing of personal_data concerning him or her which is based on point (e) or (f) of Article 6(1), including profiling based on those provisions. The controller shall no longer process the personal_data unless the controller demonstrates compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override the interests, rights and freedoms of the data subject or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

2. Where personal_data are processed for direct marketing purposes, the data subject shall have the right to object at any time to processing of personal_data concerning him or her for such marketing, which includes profiling to the extent that it is related to such direct marketing.

3. Where the data subject objects to processing for direct marketing purposes, the personal_data shall no longer be processed for such purposes.

4. At the latest at the time of the first communication with the data subject, the right referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be explicitly brought to the attention of the data subject and shall be presented clearly and separately from any other information.

5. In the context of the use of information_society_services, and notwithstanding Directive 2002/58/EC, the data subject may exercise his or her right to object by automated means using technical specifications.

6. Where personal_data are processed for scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes pursuant to Article 89(1), the data subject, on grounds relating to his or her particular situation, shall have the right to object to processing of personal_data concerning him or her, unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out for reasons of public interest.

Article 28

Processor

1. Where processing is to be carried out on behalf of a controller, the controller shall use only processors providing sufficient guarantees to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures in such a manner that processing will meet the requirements of this Regulation and ensure the protection of the rights of the data subject.

2. The processor shall not engage another processor without prior specific or general written authorisation of the controller. In the case of general written authorisation, the processor shall inform the controller of any intended changes concerning the addition or replacement of other processors, thereby giving the controller the opportunity to object to such changes.

3. Processing by a processor shall be governed by a contract or other legal act under Union or Member State law, that is binding on the processor with regard to the controller and that sets out the subject-matter and duration of the processing, the nature and purpose of the processing, the type of personal_data and categories of data subjects and the obligations and rights of the controller. That contract or other legal act shall stipulate, in particular, that the processor:

(a)

processes the personal_data only on documented instructions from the controller, including with regard to transfers of personal_data to a third country or an international_organisation, unless required to do so by Union or Member State law to which the processor is subject; in such a case, the processor shall inform the controller of that legal requirement before processing, unless that law prohibits such information on important grounds of public interest;

(b)	ensures that persons authorised to process the personal_data have committed themselves to confidentiality or are under an appropriate statutory obligation of confidentiality;

(c)	takes all measures required pursuant to Article 32;

(d)	respects the conditions referred to in paragraphs 2 and 4 for engaging another processor;

(e)	taking into account the nature of the processing, assists the controller by appropriate technical and organisational measures, insofar as this is possible, for the fulfilment of the controller's obligation to respond to requests for exercising the data subject's rights laid down in Chapter III;

(f)	assists the controller in ensuring compliance with the obligations pursuant to Articles 32 to 36 taking into account the nature of processing and the information available to the processor;

(g)	at the choice of the controller, deletes or returns all the personal_data to the controller after the end of the provision of services relating to processing, and deletes existing copies unless Union or Member State law requires storage of the personal_data;

(h)	makes available to the controller all information necessary to demonstrate compliance with the obligations laid down in this Article and allow for and contribute to audits, including inspections, conducted by the controller or another auditor mandated by the controller.

With regard to point (h) of the first subparagraph, the processor shall immediately inform the controller if, in its opinion, an instruction infringes this Regulation or other Union or Member State data protection provisions.

4. Where a processor engages another processor for carrying out specific processing activities on behalf of the controller, the same data protection obligations as set out in the contract or other legal act between the controller and the processor as referred to in paragraph 3 shall be imposed on that other processor by way of a contract or other legal act under Union or Member State law, in particular providing sufficient guarantees to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures in such a manner that the processing will meet the requirements of this Regulation. Where that other processor fails to fulfil its data protection obligations, the initial processor shall remain fully liable to the controller for the performance of that other processor's obligations.

5. Adherence of a processor to an approved code of conduct as referred to in Article 40 or an approved certification mechanism as referred to in Article 42 may be used as an element by which to demonstrate sufficient guarantees as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 4 of this Article.

6. Without prejudice to an individual contract between the controller and the processor, the contract or the other legal act referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article may be based, in whole or in part, on standard contractual clauses referred to in paragraphs 7 and 8 of this Article, including when they are part of a certification granted to the controller or processor pursuant to Articles 42 and 43.

7. The Commission may lay down standard contractual clauses for the matters referred to in paragraph 3 and 4 of this Article and in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 93(2).

8. A supervisory_authority may adopt standard contractual clauses for the matters referred to in paragraph 3 and 4 of this Article and in accordance with the consistency mechanism referred to in Article 63.

9. The contract or the other legal act referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be in writing, including in electronic form.

10. Without prejudice to Articles 82, 83 and 84, if a processor infringes this Regulation by determining the purposes and means of processing, the processor shall be considered to be a controller in respect of that processing.

Article 40

Codes of conduct

1. The Member States, the supervisory authorities, the Board and the Commission shall encourage the drawing up of codes of conduct intended to contribute to the proper application of this Regulation, taking account of the specific features of the various processing sectors and the specific needs of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

2. Associations and other bodies representing categories of controllers or processors may prepare codes of conduct, or amend or extend such codes, for the purpose of specifying the application of this Regulation, such as with regard to:

(a)	fair and transparent processing;

(b)	the legitimate interests pursued by controllers in specific contexts;

(c)	the collection of personal_data;

(d)	the pseudonymisation of personal_data;

(e)	the information provided to the public and to data subjects;

(f)	the exercise of the rights of data subjects;

(g)	the information provided to, and the protection of, children, and the manner in which the consent of the holders of parental responsibility over children is to be obtained;

(h)	the measures and procedures referred to in Articles 24 and 25 and the measures to ensure security of processing referred to in Article 32;

(i)	the notification of personal_data breaches to supervisory authorities and the communication of such personal_data breaches to data subjects;

(j)	the transfer of personal_data to third countries or international_organisations; or

(k)	out-of-court proceedings and other dispute resolution procedures for resolving disputes between controllers and data subjects with regard to processing, without prejudice to the rights of data subjects pursuant to Articles 77 and 79.

3. In addition to adherence by controllers or processors subject to this Regulation, codes of conduct approved pursuant to paragraph 5 of this Article and having general validity pursuant to paragraph 9 of this Article may also be adhered to by controllers or processors that are not subject to this Regulation pursuant to Article 3 in order to provide appropriate safeguards within the framework of personal_data transfers to third countries or international_organisations under the terms referred to in point (e) of Article 46(2). Such controllers or processors shall make binding and enforceable commitments, via contractual or other legally binding instruments, to apply those appropriate safeguards including with regard to the rights of data subjects.

4. A code of conduct referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall contain mechanisms which enable the body referred to in Article 41(1) to carry out the mandatory monitoring of compliance with its provisions by the controllers or processors which undertake to apply it, without prejudice to the tasks and powers of supervisory authorities competent pursuant to Article 55 or 56.

5. Associations and other bodies referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article which intend to prepare a code of conduct or to amend or extend an existing code shall submit the draft code, amendment or extension to the supervisory_authority which is competent pursuant to Article 55. The supervisory_authority shall provide an opinion on whether the draft code, amendment or extension complies with this Regulation and shall approve that draft code, amendment or extension if it finds that it provides sufficient appropriate safeguards.

6. Where the draft code, or amendment or extension is approved in accordance with paragraph 5, and where the code of conduct concerned does not relate to processing activities in several Member States, the supervisory_authority shall register and publish the code.

7. Where a draft code of conduct relates to processing activities in several Member States, the supervisory_authority which is competent pursuant to Article 55 shall, before approving the draft code, amendment or extension, submit it in the procedure referred to in Article 63 to the Board which shall provide an opinion on whether the draft code, amendment or extension complies with this Regulation or, in the situation referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, provides appropriate safeguards.

8. Where the opinion referred to in paragraph 7 confirms that the draft code, amendment or extension complies with this Regulation, or, in the situation referred to in paragraph 3, provides appropriate safeguards, the Board shall submit its opinion to the Commission.

9. The Commission may, by way of implementing acts, decide that the approved code of conduct, amendment or extension submitted to it pursuant to paragraph 8 of this Article have general validity within the Union. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure set out in Article 93(2).

10. The Commission shall ensure appropriate publicity for the approved codes which have been decided as having general validity in accordance with paragraph 9.

11. The Board shall collate all approved codes of conduct, amendments and extensions in a register and shall make them publicly available by way of appropriate means.

Article 49

Derogations for specific situations

1. In the absence of an adequacy decision pursuant to Article 45(3), or of appropriate safeguards pursuant to Article 46, including binding_corporate_rules, a transfer or a set of transfers of personal_data to a third country or an international_organisation shall take place only on one of the following conditions:

(a)	the data subject has explicitly consented to the proposed transfer, after having been informed of the possible risks of such transfers for the data subject due to the absence of an adequacy decision and appropriate safeguards;

(b)	the transfer is necessary for the performance of a contract between the data subject and the controller or the implementation of pre-contractual measures taken at the data subject's request;

(c)	the transfer is necessary for the conclusion or performance of a contract concluded in the interest of the data subject between the controller and another natural or legal person;

(d)	the transfer is necessary for important reasons of public interest;

(e)	the transfer is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims;

(f)	the transfer is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of other persons, where the data subject is physically or legally incapable of giving consent;

(g)

the transfer is made from a register which according to Union or Member State law is intended to provide information to the public and which is open to consultation either by the public in general or by any person who can demonstrate a legitimate interest, but only to the extent that the conditions laid down by Union or Member State law for consultation are fulfilled in the particular case.

Where a transfer could not be based on a provision in Article 45 or 46, including the provisions on binding_corporate_rules, and none of the derogations for a specific situation referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph is applicable, a transfer to a third country or an international_organisation may take place only if the transfer is not repetitive, concerns only a limited number of data subjects, is necessary for the purposes of compelling legitimate interests pursued by the controller which are not overridden by the interests or rights and freedoms of the data subject, and the controller has assessed all the circumstances surrounding the data transfer and has on the basis of that assessment provided suitable safeguards with regard to the protection of personal_data. The controller shall inform the supervisory_authority of the transfer. The controller shall, in addition to providing the information referred to in Articles 13 and 14, inform the data subject of the transfer and on the compelling legitimate interests pursued.

2. A transfer pursuant to point (g) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall not involve the entirety of the personal_data or entire categories of the personal_data contained in the register. Where the register is intended for consultation by persons having a legitimate interest, the transfer shall be made only at the request of those persons or if they are to be the recipients.

3. Points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 and the second subparagraph thereof shall not apply to activities carried out by public authorities in the exercise of their public powers.

4. The public interest referred to in point (d) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall be recognised in Union law or in the law of the Member State to which the controller is subject.

5. In the absence of an adequacy decision, Union or Member State law may, for important reasons of public interest, expressly set limits to the transfer of specific categories of personal_data to a third country or an international_organisation. Member States shall notify such provisions to the Commission.

6. The controller or processor shall document the assessment as well as the suitable safeguards referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article in the records referred to in Article 30.

Article 52

Independence

1. Each supervisory_authority shall act with complete independence in performing its tasks and exercising its powers in accordance with this Regulation.

2. The member or members of each supervisory_authority shall, in the performance of their tasks and exercise of their powers in accordance with this Regulation, remain free from external influence, whether direct or indirect, and shall neither seek nor take instructions from anybody.

3. Member or members of each supervisory_authority shall refrain from any action incompatible with their duties and shall not, during their term of office, engage in any incompatible occupation, whether gainful or not.

4. Each Member State shall ensure that each supervisory_authority is provided with the human, technical and financial resources, premises and infrastructure necessary for the effective performance of its tasks and exercise of its powers, including those to be carried out in the context of mutual assistance, cooperation and participation in the Board.

5. Each Member State shall ensure that each supervisory_authority chooses and has its own staff which shall be subject to the exclusive direction of the member or members of the supervisory_authority concerned.

6. Each Member State shall ensure that each supervisory_authority is subject to financial control which does not affect its independence and that it has separate, public annual budgets, which may be part of the overall state or national budget.

Article 53

General conditions for the members of the supervisory_authority

1. Member States shall provide for each member of their supervisory authorities to be appointed by means of a transparent procedure by:

—	their parliament;

—	their government;

—	their head of State; or

—	an independent body entrusted with the appointment under Member State law.

2. Each member shall have the qualifications, experience and skills, in particular in the area of the protection of personal_data, required to perform its duties and exercise its powers.

3. The duties of a member shall end in the event of the expiry of the term of office, resignation or compulsory retirement, in accordance with the law of the Member State concerned.

4. A member shall be dismissed only in cases of serious misconduct or if the member no longer fulfils the conditions required for the performance of the duties.

Article 54

Rules on the establishment of the supervisory_authority

1. Each Member State shall provide by law for all of the following:

(a)	the establishment of each supervisory_authority;

(b)	the qualifications and eligibility conditions required to be appointed as member of each supervisory_authority;

(c)	the rules and procedures for the appointment of the member or members of each supervisory_authority;

(d)

the duration of the term of the member or members of each supervisory_authority of no less than four years, except for the first appointment after 24 May 2016, part of which may take place for a shorter period where that is necessary to protect the independence of the supervisory_authority by means of a staggered appointment procedure;

(e)	whether and, if so, for how many terms the member or members of each supervisory_authority is eligible for reappointment;

(f)	the conditions governing the obligations of the member or members and staff of each supervisory_authority, prohibitions on actions, occupations and benefits incompatible therewith during and after the term of office and rules governing the cessation of employment.

2. The member or members and the staff of each supervisory_authority shall, in accordance with Union or Member State law, be subject to a duty of professional secrecy both during and after their term of office, with regard to any confidential information which has come to their knowledge in the course of the performance of their tasks or exercise of their powers. During their term of office, that duty of professional secrecy shall in particular apply to reporting by natural persons of infringements of this Regulation.

Section 2

Competence, tasks and powers

Article 57

Tasks

1. Without prejudice to other tasks set out under this Regulation, each supervisory_authority shall on its territory:

(a)	monitor and enforce the application of this Regulation;

(b)	promote public awareness and understanding of the risks, rules, safeguards and rights in relation to processing. Activities addressed specifically to children shall receive specific attention;

(c)	advise, in accordance with Member State law, the national parliament, the government, and other institutions and bodies on legislative and administrative measures relating to the protection of natural persons' rights and freedoms with regard to processing;

(d)	promote the awareness of controllers and processors of their obligations under this Regulation;

(e)	upon request, provide information to any data subject concerning the exercise of their rights under this Regulation and, if appropriate, cooperate with the supervisory authorities in other Member States to that end;

(f)

handle complaints lodged by a data subject, or by a body, organisation or association in accordance with Article 80, and investigate, to the extent appropriate, the subject matter of the complaint and inform the complainant of the progress and the outcome of the investigation within a reasonable period, in particular if further investigation or coordination with another supervisory_authority is necessary;

(g)	cooperate with, including sharing information and provide mutual assistance to, other supervisory authorities with a view to ensuring the consistency of application and enforcement of this Regulation;

(h)	conduct investigations on the application of this Regulation, including on the basis of information received from another supervisory_authority or other public authority;

(i)	monitor relevant developments, insofar as they have an impact on the protection of personal_data, in particular the development of information and communication technologies and commercial practices;

(j)	adopt standard contractual clauses referred to in Article 28(8) and in point (d) of Article 46(2);

(k)	establish and maintain a list in relation to the requirement for data protection impact assessment pursuant to Article 35(4);

(l)	give advice on the processing operations referred to in Article 36(2);

(m)	encourage the drawing up of codes of conduct pursuant to Article 40(1) and provide an opinion and approve such codes of conduct which provide sufficient safeguards, pursuant to Article 40(5);

(n)	encourage the establishment of data protection certification mechanisms and of data protection seals and marks pursuant to Article 42(1), and approve the criteria of certification pursuant to Article 42(5);

(o)	where applicable, carry out a periodic review of certifications issued in accordance with Article 42(7);

(p)	draft and publish the criteria for accreditation of a body for monitoring codes of conduct pursuant to Article 41 and of a certification body pursuant to Article 43;

(q)	conduct the accreditation of a body for monitoring codes of conduct pursuant to Article 41 and of a certification body pursuant to Article 43;

(r)	authorise contractual clauses and provisions referred to in Article 46(3);

(s)	approve binding_corporate_rules pursuant to Article 47;

(t)	contribute to the activities of the Board;

(u)	keep internal records of infringements of this Regulation and of measures taken in accordance with Article 58(2); and

(v)	fulfil any other tasks related to the protection of personal_data.

2. Each supervisory_authority shall facilitate the submission of complaints referred to in point (f) of paragraph 1 by measures such as a complaint submission form which can also be completed electronically, without excluding other means of communication.

3. The performance of the tasks of each supervisory_authority shall be free of charge for the data subject and, where applicable, for the data protection officer.

4. Where requests are manifestly unfounded or excessive, in particular because of their repetitive character, the supervisory_authority may charge a reasonable fee based on administrative costs, or refuse to act on the request. The supervisory_authority shall bear the burden of demonstrating the manifestly unfounded or excessive character of the request.

Article 58

Powers

1. Each supervisory_authority shall have all of the following investigative powers:

(a)	to order the controller and the processor, and, where applicable, the controller's or the processor's representative to provide any information it requires for the performance of its tasks;

(b)	to carry out investigations in the form of data protection audits;

(c)	to carry out a review on certifications issued pursuant to Article 42(7);

(d)	to notify the controller or the processor of an alleged infringement of this Regulation;

(e)	to obtain, from the controller and the processor, access to all personal_data and to all information necessary for the performance of its tasks;

(f)	to obtain access to any premises of the controller and the processor, including to any data processing equipment and means, in accordance with Union or Member State procedural law.

2. Each supervisory_authority shall have all of the following corrective powers:

(a)	to issue warnings to a controller or processor that intended processing operations are likely to infringe provisions of this Regulation;

(b)	to issue reprimands to a controller or a processor where processing operations have infringed provisions of this Regulation;

(c)	to order the controller or the processor to comply with the data subject's requests to exercise his or her rights pursuant to this Regulation;

(d)	to order the controller or processor to bring processing operations into compliance with the provisions of this Regulation, where appropriate, in a specified manner and within a specified period;

(e)	to order the controller to communicate a personal_data breach to the data subject;

(f)	to impose a temporary or definitive limitation including a ban on processing;

(g)	to order the rectification or erasure of personal_data or restriction of processing pursuant to Articles 16, 17 and 18 and the notification of such actions to recipients to whom the personal_data have been disclosed pursuant to Article 17(2) and Article 19;

(h)	to withdraw a certification or to order the certification body to withdraw a certification issued pursuant to Articles 42 and 43, or to order the certification body not to issue certification if the requirements for the certification are not or are no longer met;

(i)	to impose an administrative fine pursuant to Article 83, in addition to, or instead of measures referred to in this paragraph, depending on the circumstances of each individual case;

(j)	to order the suspension of data flows to a recipient in a third country or to an international_organisation.

3. Each supervisory_authority shall have all of the following authorisation and advisory powers:

(a)	to advise the controller in accordance with the prior consultation procedure referred to in Article 36;

(b)	to issue, on its own initiative or on request, opinions to the national parliament, the Member State government or, in accordance with Member State law, to other institutions and bodies as well as to the public on any issue related to the protection of personal_data;

(c)	to authorise processing referred to in Article 36(5), if the law of the Member State requires such prior authorisation;

(d)	to issue an opinion and approve draft codes of conduct pursuant to Article 40(5);

(e)	to accredit certification bodies pursuant to Article 43;

(f)	to issue certifications and approve criteria of certification in accordance with Article 42(5);

(g)	to adopt standard data protection clauses referred to in Article 28(8) and in point (d) of Article 46(2);

(h)	to authorise contractual clauses referred to in point (a) of Article 46(3);

(i)	to authorise administrative arrangements referred to in point (b) of Article 46(3);

(j)	to approve binding_corporate_rules pursuant to Article 47.

4. The exercise of the powers conferred on the supervisory_authority pursuant to this Article shall be subject to appropriate safeguards, including effective judicial remedy and due process, set out in Union and Member State law in accordance with the Charter.

5. Each Member State shall provide by law that its supervisory_authority shall have the power to bring infringements of this Regulation to the attention of the judicial authorities and where appropriate, to commence or engage otherwise in legal proceedings, in order to enforce the provisions of this Regulation.

6. Each Member State may provide by law that its supervisory_authority shall have additional powers to those referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3. The exercise of those powers shall not impair the effective operation of Chapter VII.

Article 59

Activity reports

Each supervisory_authority shall draw up an annual report on its activities, which may include a list of types of infringement notified and types of measures taken in accordance with Article 58(2). Those reports shall be transmitted to the national parliament, the government and other authorities as designated by Member State law. They shall be made available to the public, to the Commission and to the Board.

CHAPTER VII

Cooperation and consistency

Section 1

Cooperation

Article 61

Mutual assistance

1. Supervisory authorities shall provide each other with relevant information and mutual assistance in order to implement and apply this Regulation in a consistent manner, and shall put in place measures for effective cooperation with one another. Mutual assistance shall cover, in particular, information requests and supervisory measures, such as requests to carry out prior authorisations and consultations, inspections and investigations.

2. Each supervisory_authority shall take all appropriate measures required to reply to a request of another supervisory_authority without undue delay and no later than one month after receiving the request. Such measures may include, in particular, the transmission of relevant information on the conduct of an investigation.

3. Requests for assistance shall contain all the necessary information, including the purpose of and reasons for the request. Information exchanged shall be used only for the purpose for which it was requested.

4. The requested supervisory_authority shall not refuse to comply with the request unless:

(a)	it is not competent for the subject-matter of the request or for the measures it is requested to execute; or

(b)	compliance with the request would infringe this Regulation or Union or Member State law to which the supervisory_authority receiving the request is subject.

5. The requested supervisory_authority shall inform the requesting supervisory_authority of the results or, as the case may be, of the progress of the measures taken in order to respond to the request. The requested supervisory_authority shall provide reasons for any refusal to comply with a request pursuant to paragraph 4.

6. Requested supervisory authorities shall, as a rule, supply the information requested by other supervisory authorities by electronic means, using a standardised format.

7. Requested supervisory authorities shall not charge a fee for any action taken by them pursuant to a request for mutual assistance. Supervisory authorities may agree on rules to indemnify each other for specific expenditure arising from the provision of mutual assistance in exceptional circumstances.

8. Where a supervisory_authority does not provide the information referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article within one month of receiving the request of another supervisory_authority, the requesting supervisory_authority may adopt a provisional measure on the territory of its Member State in accordance with Article 55(1). In that case, the urgent need to act under Article 66(1) shall be presumed to be met and require an urgent binding decision from the Board pursuant to Article 66(2).

9. The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, specify the format and procedures for mutual assistance referred to in this Article and the arrangements for the exchange of information by electronic means between supervisory authorities, and between supervisory authorities and the Board, in particular the standardised format referred to in paragraph 6 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 93(2).

Article 70

Tasks of the Board

1. The Board shall ensure the consistent application of this Regulation. To that end, the Board shall, on its own initiative or, where relevant, at the request of the Commission, in particular:

(a)	monitor and ensure the correct application of this Regulation in the cases provided for in Articles 64 and 65 without prejudice to the tasks of national supervisory authorities;

(b)	advise the Commission on any issue related to the protection of personal_data in the Union, including on any proposed amendment of this Regulation;

(c)	advise the Commission on the format and procedures for the exchange of information between controllers, processors and supervisory authorities for binding_corporate_rules;

(d)	issue guidelines, recommendations, and best practices on procedures for erasing links, copies or replications of personal_data from publicly available communication services as referred to in Article 17(2);

(e)	examine, on its own initiative, on request of one of its members or on request of the Commission, any question covering the application of this Regulation and issue guidelines, recommendations and best practices in order to encourage consistent application of this Regulation;

(f)	issue guidelines, recommendations and best practices in accordance with point (e) of this paragraph for further specifying the criteria and conditions for decisions based on profiling pursuant to Article 22(2);

(g)

issue guidelines, recommendations and best practices in accordance with point (e) of this paragraph for establishing the personal_data breaches and determining the undue delay referred to in Article 33(1) and (2) and for the particular circumstances in which a controller or a processor is required to notify the personal_data breach;

(h)	issue guidelines, recommendations and best practices in accordance with point (e) of this paragraph as to the circumstances in which a personal_data breach is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of the natural persons referred to in Article 34(1).

(i)

issue guidelines, recommendations and best practices in accordance with point (e) of this paragraph for the purpose of further specifying the criteria and requirements for personal_data transfers based on binding_corporate_rules adhered to by controllers and binding_corporate_rules adhered to by processors and on further necessary requirements to ensure the protection of personal_data of the data subjects concerned referred to in Article 47;

(j)	issue guidelines, recommendations and best practices in accordance with point (e) of this paragraph for the purpose of further specifying the criteria and requirements for the personal_data transfers on the basis of Article 49(1);

(k)	draw up guidelines for supervisory authorities concerning the application of measures referred to in Article 58(1), (2) and (3) and the setting of administrative fines pursuant to Article 83;

(l)	review the practical application of the guidelines, recommendations and best practices referred to in points (e) and (f);

(m)	issue guidelines, recommendations and best practices in accordance with point (e) of this paragraph for establishing common procedures for reporting by natural persons of infringements of this Regulation pursuant to Article 54(2);

(n)	encourage the drawing-up of codes of conduct and the establishment of data protection certification mechanisms and data protection seals and marks pursuant to Articles 40 and 42;

(o)	carry out the accreditation of certification bodies and its periodic review pursuant to Article 43 and maintain a public register of accredited bodies pursuant to Article 43(6) and of the accredited controllers or processors established in third countries pursuant to Article 42(7);

(p)	specify the requirements referred to in Article 43(3) with a view to the accreditation of certification bodies under Article 42;

(q)	provide the Commission with an opinion on the certification requirements referred to in Article 43(8);

(r)	provide the Commission with an opinion on the icons referred to in Article 12(7);

(s)

provide the Commission with an opinion for the assessment of the adequacy of the level of protection in a third country or international_organisation, including for the assessment whether a third country, a territory or one or more specified sectors within that third country, or an international_organisation no longer ensures an adequate level of protection. To that end, the Commission shall provide the Board with all necessary documentation, including correspondence with the government of the third country, with regard to that third country, territory or specified sector, or with the international_organisation.

(t)	issue opinions on draft decisions of supervisory authorities pursuant to the consistency mechanism referred to in Article 64(1), on matters submitted pursuant to Article 64(2) and to issue binding decisions pursuant to Article 65, including in cases referred to in Article 66;

(u)	promote the cooperation and the effective bilateral and multilateral exchange of information and best practices between the supervisory authorities;

(v)	promote common training programmes and facilitate personnel exchanges between the supervisory authorities and, where appropriate, with the supervisory authorities of third countries or with international_organisations;

(w)	promote the exchange of knowledge and documentation on data protection legislation and practice with data protection supervisory authorities worldwide.

(x)	issue opinions on codes of conduct drawn up at Union level pursuant to Article 40(9); and

(y)	maintain a publicly accessible electronic register of decisions taken by supervisory authorities and courts on issues handled in the consistency mechanism.

2. Where the Commission requests advice from the Board, it may indicate a time limit, taking into account the urgency of the matter.

3. The Board shall forward its opinions, guidelines, recommendations, and best practices to the Commission and to the committee referred to in Article 93 and make them public.

4. The Board shall, where appropriate, consult interested parties and give them the opportunity to comment within a reasonable period. The Board shall, without prejudice to Article 76, make the results of the consultation procedure publicly available.

Article 76

Confidentiality

1. The discussions of the Board shall be confidential where the Board deems it necessary, as provided for in its rules of procedure.

2. Access to documents submitted to members of the Board, experts and representatives of third parties shall be governed by Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (21).

CHAPTER VIII

Remedies, liability and penalties

Article 81

Suspension of proceedings

1. Where a competent court of a Member State has information on proceedings, concerning the same subject matter as regards processing by the same controller or processor, that are pending in a court in another Member State, it shall contact that court in the other Member State to confirm the existence of such proceedings.

2. Where proceedings concerning the same subject matter as regards processing of the same controller or processor are pending in a court in another Member State, any competent court other than the court first seized may suspend its proceedings.

3. Where those proceedings are pending at first instance, any court other than the court first seized may also, on the application of one of the parties, decline jurisdiction if the court first seized has jurisdiction over the actions in question and its law permits the consolidation thereof.

Article 83

General conditions for imposing administrative fines

1. Each supervisory_authority shall ensure that the imposition of administrative fines pursuant to this Article in respect of infringements of this Regulation referred to in paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 shall in each individual case be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

2. Administrative fines shall, depending on the circumstances of each individual case, be imposed in addition to, or instead of, measures referred to in points (a) to (h) and (j) of Article 58(2). When deciding whether to impose an administrative fine and deciding on the amount of the administrative fine in each individual case due regard shall be given to the following:

(a)	the nature, gravity and duration of the infringement taking into account the nature scope or purpose of the processing concerned as well as the number of data subjects affected and the level of damage suffered by them;

(b)	the intentional or negligent character of the infringement;

(c)	any action taken by the controller or processor to mitigate the damage suffered by data subjects;

(d)	the degree of responsibility of the controller or processor taking into account technical and organisational measures implemented by them pursuant to Articles 25 and 32;

(e)	any relevant previous infringements by the controller or processor;

(f)	the degree of cooperation with the supervisory_authority, in order to remedy the infringement and mitigate the possible adverse effects of the infringement;

(g)	the categories of personal_data affected by the infringement;

(h)	the manner in which the infringement became known to the supervisory_authority, in particular whether, and if so to what extent, the controller or processor notified the infringement;

(i)	where measures referred to in Article 58(2) have previously been ordered against the controller or processor concerned with regard to the same subject-matter, compliance with those measures;

(j)	adherence to approved codes of conduct pursuant to Article 40 or approved certification mechanisms pursuant to Article 42; and

(k)	any other aggravating or mitigating factor applicable to the circumstances of the case, such as financial benefits gained, or losses avoided, directly or indirectly, from the infringement.

3. If a controller or processor intentionally or negligently, for the same or linked processing operations, infringes several provisions of this Regulation, the total amount of the administrative fine shall not exceed the amount specified for the gravest infringement.

4. Infringements of the following provisions shall, in accordance with paragraph 2, be subject to administrative fines up to 10 000 000 EUR, or in the case of an undertaking, up to 2 % of the total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher:

(a)	the obligations of the controller and the processor pursuant to Articles 8, 11, 25 to 39 and 42 and 43;

(b)	the obligations of the certification body pursuant to Articles 42 and 43;

(c)	the obligations of the monitoring body pursuant to Article 41(4).

5. Infringements of the following provisions shall, in accordance with paragraph 2, be subject to administrative fines up to 20 000 000 EUR, or in the case of an undertaking, up to 4 % of the total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher:

(a)	the basic principles for processing, including conditions for consent, pursuant to Articles 5, 6, 7 and 9;

(b)	the data subjects' rights pursuant to Articles 12 to 22;

(c)	the transfers of personal_data to a recipient in a third country or an international_organisation pursuant to Articles 44 to 49;

(d)	any obligations pursuant to Member State law adopted under Chapter IX;

(e)	non-compliance with an order or a temporary or definitive limitation on processing or the suspension of data flows by the supervisory_authority pursuant to Article 58(2) or failure to provide access in violation of Article 58(1).

6. Non-compliance with an order by the supervisory_authority as referred to in Article 58(2) shall, in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article, be subject to administrative fines up to 20 000 000 EUR, or in the case of an undertaking, up to 4 % of the total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher.

7. Without prejudice to the corrective powers of supervisory authorities pursuant to Article 58(2), each Member State may lay down the rules on whether and to what extent administrative fines may be imposed on public authorities and bodies established in that Member State.

8. The exercise by the supervisory_authority of its powers under this Article shall be subject to appropriate procedural safeguards in accordance with Union and Member State law, including effective judicial remedy and due process.

9. Where the legal system of the Member State does not provide for administrative fines, this Article may be applied in such a manner that the fine is initiated by the competent supervisory_authority and imposed by competent national courts, while ensuring that those legal remedies are effective and have an equivalent effect to the administrative fines imposed by supervisory authorities. In any event, the fines imposed shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Those Member States shall notify to the Commission the provisions of their laws which they adopt pursuant to this paragraph by 25 May 2018 and, without delay, any subsequent amendment law or amendment affecting them.

Article 90

Obligations of secrecy

1. Member States may adopt specific rules to set out the powers of the supervisory authorities laid down in points (e) and (f) of Article 58(1) in relation to controllers or processors that are subject, under Union or Member State law or rules established by national competent bodies, to an obligation of professional secrecy or other equivalent obligations of secrecy where this is necessary and proportionate to reconcile the right of the protection of personal_data with the obligation of secrecy. Those rules shall apply only with regard to personal_data which the controller or processor has received as a result of or has obtained in an activity covered by that obligation of secrecy.

2. Each Member State shall notify to the Commission the rules adopted pursuant to paragraph 1, by 25 May 2018 and, without delay, any subsequent amendment affecting them.

whereas

(14) The protection afforded by this Regulation should apply to natural persons, whatever their nationality or place of residence, in relation to the processing of their personal_data.
This Regulation does not cover the processing of personal_data which concerns legal persons and in particular undertakings established as legal persons, including the name and the form of the legal person and the contact details of the legal person.

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(15) In order to prevent creating a serious risk of circumvention, the protection of natural persons should be technologically neutral and should not depend on the techniques used.
The protection of natural persons should apply to the processing of personal_data by automated means, as well as to manual processing, if the personal_data are contained or are intended to be contained in a filing_system.
Files or sets of files, as well as their cover pages, which are not structured according to specific criteria should not fall within the scope of this Regulation.

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(19) The protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal_data by competent authorities for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, including the safeguarding against and the prevention of threats to public security and the free movement of such data, is the subject of a specific Union legal act.
This Regulation should not, therefore, apply to processing activities for those purposes.
However, personal_data processed by public authorities under this Regulation should, when used for those purposes, be governed by a more specific Union legal act, namely Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7).
Member States may entrust competent authorities within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/680 with tasks which are not necessarily carried out for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, including the safeguarding against and prevention of threats to public security, so that the processing of personal_data for those other purposes, in so far as it is within the scope of Union law, falls within the scope of this Regulation.

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(20) While this Regulation applies, inter alia, to the activities of courts and other judicial authorities, Union or Member State law could specify the processing operations and processing procedures in relation to the processing of personal_data by courts and other judicial authorities.
The competence of the supervisory authorities should not cover the processing of personal_data when courts are acting in their judicial capacity, in order to safeguard the independence of the judiciary in the performance of its judicial tasks, including decision-making.
It should be possible to entrust supervision of such data processing operations to specific bodies within the judicial system of the Member State, which should, in particular ensure compliance with the rules of this Regulation, enhance awareness among members of the judiciary of their obligations under this Regulation and handle complaints in relation to such data processing operations.

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(32) Consent should be given by a clear affirmative act establishing a freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject's agreement to the processing of personal_data relating to him or her, such as by a written statement, including by electronic means, or an oral statement.
This could include ticking a box when visiting an internet website, choosing technical settings for information_society_services or another statement or conduct which clearly indicates in this context the data subject's acceptance of the proposed processing of his or her personal_data.
Silence, pre-ticked boxes or inactivity should not therefore constitute consent.
Consent should cover all processing activities carried out for the same purpose or purposes.
When the processing has multiple purposes, consent should be given for all of them.
If the data subject's consent is to be given following a request by electronic means, the request must be clear, concise and not unnecessarily disruptive to the use of the service for which it is provided.

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(37) A group_of_undertakings should cover a controlling undertaking and its controlled undertakings, whereby the controlling undertaking should be the undertaking which can exert a dominant influence over the other undertakings by virtue, for example, of ownership, financial participation or the rules which govern it or the power to have personal_data protection rules implemented.
An undertaking which controls the processing of personal_data in undertakings affiliated to it should be regarded, together with those undertakings, as a group_of_undertakings.

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(45) Where processing is carried out in accordance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject or where processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority, the processing should have a basis in Union or Member State law.
This Regulation does not require a specific law for each individual processing.
A law as a basis for several processing operations based on a legal obligation to which the controller is subject or where processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of an official authority may be sufficient.
It should also be for Union or Member State law to determine the purpose of processing.
Furthermore, that law could specify the general conditions of this Regulation governing the lawfulness of personal_data processing, establish specifications for determining the controller, the type of personal_data which are subject to the processing, the data subjects concerned, the entities to which the personal_data may be disclosed, the purpose limitations, the storage period and other measures to ensure lawful and fair processing.
It should also be for Union or Member State law to determine whether the controller performing a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority should be a public authority or another natural or legal person governed by public law, or, where it is in the public interest to do so, including for health purposes such as public health and social protection and the management of health care services, by private law, such as a professional association.

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(47) The legitimate interests of a controller, including those of a controller to which the personal_data may be disclosed, or of a third_party, may provide a legal basis for processing, provided that the interests or the fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject are not overriding, taking into consideration the reasonable expectations of data subjects based on their relationship with the controller.
Such legitimate interest could exist for example where there is a relevant and appropriate relationship between the data subject and the controller in situations such as where the data subject is a client or in the service of the controller.
At any rate the existence of a legitimate interest would need careful assessment including whether a data subject can reasonably expect at the time and in the context of the collection of the personal_data that processing for that purpose may take place.
The interests and fundamental rights of the data subject could in particular override the interest of the data controller where personal_data are processed in circumstances where data subjects do not reasonably expect further processing.
Given that it is for the legislator to provide by law for the legal basis for public authorities to process personal_data, that legal basis should not apply to the processing by public authorities in the performance of their tasks.
The processing of personal_data strictly necessary for the purposes of preventing fraud also constitutes a legitimate interest of the data controller concerned.
The processing of personal_data for direct marketing purposes may be regarded as carried out for a legitimate interest.

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(51) Personal data which are, by their nature, particularly sensitive in relation to fundamental rights and freedoms merit specific protection as the context of their processing could create significant risks to the fundamental rights and freedoms.
Those personal_data should include personal_data revealing racial or ethnic origin, whereby the use of the term ‘racial origin’ in this Regulation does not imply an acceptance by the Union of theories which attempt to determine the existence of separate human races.
The processing of photographs should not systematically be considered to be processing of special categories of personal_data as they are covered by the definition of biometric_data only when processed through a specific technical means allowing the unique identification or authentication of a natural person.
Such personal_data should not be processed, unless processing is allowed in specific cases set out in this Regulation, taking into account that Member States law may lay down specific provisions on data protection in order to adapt the application of the rules of this Regulation for compliance with a legal obligation or for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.
In addition to the specific requirements for such processing, the general principles and other rules of this Regulation should apply, in particular as regards the conditions for lawful processing.
Derogations from the general prohibition for processing such special categories of personal_data should be explicitly provided, inter alia, where the data subject gives his or her explicit consent or in respect of specific needs in particular where the processing is carried out in the course of legitimate activities by certain associations or foundations the purpose of which is to permit the exercise of fundamental freedoms.

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(55) Moreover, the processing of personal_data by official authorities for the purpose of achieving the aims, laid down by constitutional law or by international public law, of officially recognised religious associations, is carried out on grounds of public interest.

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(60) The principles of fair and transparent processing require that the data subject be informed of the existence of the processing operation and its purposes.
The controller should provide the data subject with any further information necessary to ensure fair and transparent processing taking into account the specific circumstances and context in which the personal_data are processed.
Furthermore, the data subject should be informed of the existence of profiling and the consequences of such profiling.
Where the personal_data are collected from the data subject, the data subject should also be informed whether he or she is obliged to provide the personal_data and of the consequences, where he or she does not provide such data.
That information may be provided in combination with standardised icons in order to give in an easily visible, intelligible and clearly legible manner, a meaningful overview of the intended processing.
Where the icons are presented electronically, they should be machine-readable.

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(68) To further strengthen the control over his or her own data, where the processing of personal_data is carried out by automated means, the data subject should also be allowed to receive personal_data concerning him or her which he or she has provided to a controller in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable and interoperable format, and to transmit it to another controller.
Data controllers should be encouraged to develop interoperable formats that enable data portability.
That right should apply where the data subject provided the personal_data on the basis of his or her consent or the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract.
It should not apply where processing is based on a legal ground other than consent or contract.
By its very nature, that right should not be exercised against controllers processing personal_data in the exercise of their public duties.
It should therefore not apply where the processing of the personal_data is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject or for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of an official authority vested in the controller.
The data subject's right to transmit or receive personal_data concerning him or her should not create an obligation for the controllers to adopt or maintain processing systems which are technically compatible.
Where, in a certain set of personal_data, more than one data subject is concerned, the right to receive the personal_data should be without prejudice to the rights and freedoms of other data subjects in accordance with this Regulation.
Furthermore, that right should not prejudice the right of the data subject to obtain the erasure of personal_data and the limitations of that right as set out in this Regulation and should, in particular, not imply the erasure of personal_data concerning the data subject which have been provided by him or her for the performance of a contract to the extent that and for as long as the personal_data are necessary for the performance of that contract.
Where technically feasible, the data subject should have the right to have the personal_data transmitted directly from one controller to another.

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(69) Where personal_data might lawfully be processed because processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller, or on grounds of the legitimate interests of a controller or a third_party, a data subject should, nevertheless, be entitled to object to the processing of any personal_data relating to his or her particular situation.
It should be for the controller to demonstrate that its compelling legitimate interest overrides the interests or the fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject.

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(71) The data subject should have the right not to be subject to a decision, which may include a measure, evaluating personal aspects relating to him or her which is based solely on automated processing and which produces legal effects concerning him or her or similarly significantly affects him or her, such as automatic refusal of an online credit application or e-recruiting practices without any human intervention.
Such processing includes ‘ profiling’ that consists of any form of automated processing of personal_data evaluating the personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyse or predict aspects concerning the data subject's performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences or interests, reliability or behaviour, location or movements, where it produces legal effects concerning him or her or similarly significantly affects him or her.
However, decision-making based on such processing, including profiling, should be allowed where expressly authorised by Union or Member State law to which the controller is subject, including for fraud and tax-evasion monitoring and prevention purposes conducted in accordance with the regulations, standards and recommendations of Union institutions or national oversight bodies and to ensure the security and reliability of a service provided by the controller, or necessary for the entering or performance of a contract between the data subject and a controller, or when the data subject has given his or her explicit consent.
In any case, such processing should be subject to suitable safeguards, which should include specific information to the data subject and the right to obtain human intervention, to express his or her point of view, to obtain an explanation of the decision reached after such assessment and to challenge the decision.
Such measure should not concern a child.

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(72) Profiling is subject to the rules of this Regulation governing the processing of personal_data, such as the legal grounds for processing or data protection principles.
The European Data Protection Board established by this Regulation (the ‘Board’) should be able to issue guidance in that context.

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(75) The risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons, of varying likelihood and severity, may result from personal_data processing which could lead to physical, material or non-material damage, in particular: where the processing may give rise to discrimination, identity theft or fraud, financial loss, damage to the reputation, loss of confidentiality of personal_data protected by professional secrecy, unauthorised reversal of pseudonymisation, or any other significant economic or social disadvantage; where data subjects might be deprived of their rights and freedoms or prevented from exercising control over their personal_data; where personal_data are processed which reveal racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, and the processing of genetic_data, data_concerning_health or data concerning sex life or criminal convictions and offences or related security measures; where personal aspects are evaluated, in particular analysing or predicting aspects concerning performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences or interests, reliability or behaviour, location or movements, in order to create or use personal profiles; where personal_data of vulnerable natural persons, in particular of children, are processed; or where processing involves a large amount of personal_data and affects a large number of data subjects.

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(81) To ensure compliance with the requirements of this Regulation in respect of the processing to be carried out by the processor on behalf of the controller, when entrusting a processor with processing activities, the controller should use only processors providing sufficient guarantees, in particular in terms of expert knowledge, reliability and resources, to implement technical and organisational measures which will meet the requirements of this Regulation, including for the security of processing.
The adherence of the processor to an approved code of conduct or an approved certification mechanism may be used as an element to demonstrate compliance with the obligations of the controller.
The carrying-out of processing by a processor should be governed by a contract or other legal act under Union or Member State law, binding the processor to the controller, setting out the subject-matter and duration of the processing, the nature and purposes of the processing, the type of personal_data and categories of data subjects, taking into account the specific tasks and responsibilities of the processor in the context of the processing to be carried out and the risk to the rights and freedoms of the data subject.
The controller and processor may choose to use an individual contract or standard contractual clauses which are adopted either directly by the Commission or by a supervisory_authority in accordance with the consistency mechanism and then adopted by the Commission.
After the completion of the processing on behalf of the controller, the processor should, at the choice of the controller, return or delete the personal_data, unless there is a requirement to store the personal_data under Union or Member State law to which the processor is subject.

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(85) A personal_data breach may, if not addressed in an appropriate and timely manner, result in physical, material or non-material damage to natural persons such as loss of control over their personal_data or limitation of their rights, discrimination, identity theft or fraud, financial loss, unauthorised reversal of pseudonymisation, damage to reputation, loss of confidentiality of personal_data protected by professional secrecy or any other significant economic or social disadvantage to the natural person concerned.
Therefore, as soon as the controller becomes aware that a personal_data breach has occurred, the controller should notify the personal_data breach to the supervisory_authority without undue delay and, where feasible, not later than 72 hours after having become aware of it, unless the controller is able to demonstrate, in accordance with the accountability principle, that the personal_data breach is unlikely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons.
Where such notification cannot be achieved within 72 hours, the reasons for the delay should accompany the notification and information may be provided in phases without undue further delay.

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(88) In setting detailed rules concerning the format and procedures applicable to the notification of personal_data breaches, due consideration should be given to the circumstances of that breach, including whether or not personal_data had been protected by appropriate technical protection measures, effectively limiting the likelihood of identity fraud or other forms of misuse.
Moreover, such rules and procedures should take into account the legitimate interests of law-enforcement authorities where early disclosure could unnecessarily hamper the investigation of the circumstances of a personal_data breach.

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(113) Transfers which can be qualified as not repetitive and that only concern a limited number of data subjects, could also be possible for the purposes of the compelling legitimate interests pursued by the controller, when those interests are not overridden by the interests or rights and freedoms of the data subject and when the controller has assessed all the circumstances surrounding the data transfer.
The controller should give particular consideration to the nature of the personal_data, the purpose and duration of the proposed processing operation or operations, as well as the situation in the country of origin, the third country and the country of final destination, and should provide suitable safeguards to protect fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons with regard to the processing of their personal_data.
Such transfers should be possible only in residual cases where none of the other grounds for transfer are applicable.
For scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes, the legitimate expectations of society for an increase of knowledge should be taken into consideration.
The controller should inform the supervisory_authority and the data subject about the transfer.

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(120) Each supervisory_authority should be provided with the financial and human resources, premises and infrastructure necessary for the effective performance of their tasks, including those related to mutual assistance and cooperation with other supervisory authorities throughout the Union.
Each supervisory_authority should have a separate, public annual budget, which may be part of the overall state or national budget.

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(121) The general conditions for the member or members of the supervisory_authority should be laid down by law in each Member State and should in particular provide that those members are to be appointed, by means of a transparent procedure, either by the parliament, government or the head of State of the Member State on the basis of a proposal from the government, a member of the government, the parliament or a chamber of the parliament, or by an independent body entrusted under Member State law.
In order to ensure the independence of the supervisory_authority, the member or members should act with integrity, refrain from any action that is incompatible with their duties and should not, during their term of office, engage in any incompatible occupation, whether gainful or not.
The supervisory_authority should have its own staff, chosen by the supervisory_authority or an independent body established by Member State law, which should be subject to the exclusive direction of the member or members of the supervisory_authority.

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(122) Each supervisory_authority should be competent on the territory of its own Member State to exercise the powers and to perform the tasks conferred on it in accordance with this Regulation.
This should cover in particular the processing in the context of the activities of an establishment of the controller or processor on the territory of its own Member State, the processing of personal_data carried out by public authorities or private bodies acting in the public interest, processing affecting data subjects on its territory or processing carried out by a controller or processor not established in the Union when targeting data subjects residing on its territory.
This should include handling complaints lodged by a data subject, conducting investigations on the application of this Regulation and promoting public awareness of the risks, rules, safeguards and rights in relation to the processing of personal_data.

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(124) Where the processing of personal_data takes place in the context of the activities of an establishment of a controller or a processor in the Union and the controller or processor is established in more than one Member State, or where processing taking place in the context of the activities of a single establishment of a controller or processor in the Union substantially affects or is likely to substantially affect data subjects in more than one Member State, the supervisory_authority for the main_establishment of the controller or processor or for the single establishment of the controller or processor should act as lead authority.
It should cooperate with the other authorities concerned, because the controller or processor has an establishment on the territory of their Member State, because data subjects residing on their territory are substantially affected, or because a complaint has been lodged with them.
Also where a data subject not residing in that Member State has lodged a complaint, the supervisory_authority with which such complaint has been lodged should also be a supervisory_authority concerned.
Within its tasks to issue guidelines on any question covering the application of this Regulation, the Board should be able to issue guidelines in particular on the criteria to be taken into account in order to ascertain whether the processing in question substantially affects data subjects in more than one Member State and on what constitutes a relevant_and_reasoned_objection.

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(144) Where a court seized of proceedings against a decision by a supervisory_authority has reason to believe that proceedings concerning the same processing, such as the same subject matter as regards processing by the same controller or processor, or the same cause of action, are brought before a competent court in another Member State, it should contact that court in order to confirm the existence of such related proceedings.
If related proceedings are pending before a court in another Member State, any court other than the court first seized may stay its proceedings or may, on request of one of the parties, decline jurisdiction in favour of the court first seized if that court has jurisdiction over the proceedings in question and its law permits the consolidation of such related proceedings.
Proceedings are deemed to be related where they are so closely connected that it is expedient to hear and determine them together in order to avoid the risk of irreconcilable judgments resulting from separate proceedings.

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(153) Member States law should reconcile the rules governing freedom of expression and information, including journalistic, academic, artistic and or literary expression with the right to the protection of personal_data pursuant to this Regulation.
The processing of personal_data solely for journalistic purposes, or for the purposes of academic, artistic or literary expression should be subject to derogations or exemptions from certain provisions of this Regulation if necessary to reconcile the right to the protection of personal_data with the right to freedom of expression and information, as enshrined in Article 11 of the Charter.
This should apply in particular to the processing of personal_data in the audiovisual field and in news archives and press libraries.
Therefore, Member States should adopt legislative measures which lay down the exemptions and derogations necessary for the purpose of balancing those fundamental rights.
Member States should adopt such exemptions and derogations on general principles, the rights of the data subject, the controller and the processor, the transfer of personal_data to third countries or international_organisations, the independent supervisory authorities, cooperation and consistency, and specific data- processing situations.
Where such exemptions or derogations differ from one Member State to another, the law of the Member State to which the controller is subject should apply.
In order to take account of the importance of the right to freedom of expression in every democratic society, it is necessary to interpret notions relating to that freedom, such as journalism, broadly.

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(154) This Regulation allows the principle of public access to official documents to be taken into account when applying this Regulation.
Public access to official documents may be considered to be in the public interest.
Personal data in documents held by a public authority or a public body should be able to be publicly disclosed by that authority or body if the disclosure is provided for by Union or Member State law to which the public authority or public body is subject.
Such laws should reconcile public access to official documents and the reuse of public sector information with the right to the protection of personal_data and may therefore provide for the necessary reconciliation with the right to the protection of personal_data pursuant to this Regulation.
The reference to public authorities and bodies should in that context include all authorities or other bodies covered by Member State law on public access to documents.
Directive 2003/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (14) leaves intact and in no way affects the level of protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal_data under the provisions of Union and Member State law, and in particular does not alter the obligations and rights set out in this Regulation.
In particular, that Directive should not apply to documents to which access is excluded or restricted by virtue of the access regimes on the grounds of protection of personal_data, and parts of documents accessible by virtue of those regimes which contain personal_data the re-use of which has been provided for by law as being incompatible with the law concerning the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal_data.

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dal 2004 diritto e informatica