General Data Protection Regulation

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the European Union's comprehensive data privacy and security law that went into effect on May 25, 2018. The regulation applies to any organization worldwide that processes data related to EU residents, regardless of the organization's location. It represents the world's most stringent approach to data protection, with potential fines for violations reaching up to €20 million or 4% of global revenue, whichever is higher.

The regulation mandates several key requirements for organizations processing EU residents' personal data. These include obtaining explicit consent for data collection, ensuring data minimization and purpose limitation, implementing appropriate security measures, and honoring individuals' rights regarding their personal data. Organizations must also maintain detailed documentation of their data processing activities, report data breaches within 72 hours, and in some cases appoint Data Protection Officers. The regulation defines personal data broadly, encompassing everything from basic identifiers like names and email addresses to more complex data like location information, biometric data, and online identifiers.

The GDPR has established a new global standard for data protection by codifying several fundamental principles, including transparency, accountability, and privacy by design. Organizations must not only comply with these principles but also be able to demonstrate their compliance through documentation and organizational measures. This comprehensive approach to data protection reflects the EU's position that privacy is a fundamental human right, building upon the privacy protections first established in the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights and updated for the digital age.

Summary

Chapter 2: Principles

Chapter 2 of the GDPR addresses personal data, legal ways to process it, and consent of the user.

Art. 5 GDPR: Principles relating to processing of personal data

Personal data processing under GDPR mandates that data must be handled lawfully, fairly, and transparently; collected for specific legitimate purposes; kept accurate and up-to-date; minimized to only what's necessary; stored only as long as required; and protected with appropriate security measures.

Art. 7 GDPR: Conditions for consent

When applicable, data subjects must consent to the processing of his or her personal data. Written requests for consent must use clear and plain language. Any portion of a written request violating the GDPR is not considered binding.

The data subject may also withdraw his or consent at any time and it should "be as easy to withdraw as to give consent."

Consent also must be freely given as defined in Recital 43. Consent is not considered freely given when a power imbalance exists between the data collected and the data subject, when consent for different data operations is improperly bundled together, or when access to services is made conditional on consenting to unnecessary data collection.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 of the GDPR covers transparency, information and access to personal data, the right to change, erase, or restrict processing of personal data, and the right to object.

Art. 17 GDPR: Right to erasure (‘right to be forgotten’)

Data subjects have the right to request erasure of their personal data by the data processor and the data processor is required to erase said data in a timely manner. This includes unnecessarily stored data, unlawfully processed data, and publically availabe information.

This article does not cover free of expression and information, public interest, archiving purposes, or legally-relevant information.

Art. 21 GDPR: Right to object

Data subjects have the right to object to processing of their personal data in several key contexts, including when processing is based on public interest or legitimate interests grounds, for direct marketing purposes, or for research purposes - and in the case of direct marketing, this objection must be honored without exception.

When such an objection is made, the controller must cease processing unless they can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override the data subject's rights and freedoms, with special provisions requiring that this right to object must be explicitly communicated to data subjects and made easily accessible, particularly in digital contexts.

Art. 22 GDPR: Automated individual decision-making, including profiling

Under Article 22, individuals have the right to not be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing or profiling that have legal or similarly significant effects, with three key exceptions: when the automated decision is necessary for a contract, authorized by law, or based on explicit consent.

When automated decisions are made under contractual necessity or explicit consent, the data controller must implement safeguards including human intervention options, allowing individuals to express their views and contest decisions. Automated decisions cannot be based on special categories of personal data (such as race, health data, or political opinions) unless specific conditions are met and appropriate safeguards are in place.