What are the principles of the GDPR?

Principles of data processing:

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) sets out a number of principles that must be observed when processing personal data. These principles form the foundation of data protection law and serve to ensure the protection of privacy and the rights of data subjects. The key principles are explained in detail here:

1. Lawfulness, fairness and transparency (Article 5(1)(a) GDPR):
   • Lawfulness: The processing of personal data must be based on a lawful basis, such as the consent of the data subject, the performance of a contract or a legal obligation.
   • Fair processing: Data must be processed in a manner that is transparent and fair to the data subjects.
   • Transparency: Data subjects must be informed in a clear and understandable manner about how their data is processed, including the purposes of the processing, the recipients of the data and their rights.
2. Purpose limitation (Article 5 paragraph 1 letter b GDPR):
   • Personal data must only be collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes. Purpose limitation ensures that data is not used for purposes other than those originally specified, unless a new legal basis is available.
3. Data minimization (Article 5 paragraph 1 letter c GDPR):
   • The processing of personal data must be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the purposes of the processing. This principle of data minimization aims to reduce the amount of data collected and processed and thus minimize the risk to the data subjects.
4. Accuracy (Article 5 paragraph 1 letter d GDPR):
   • Personal data must be accurate and, where necessary, up to date. All appropriate measures must be taken to ensure that inaccurate personal data are erased or corrected without delay. The accuracy of the data is crucial to avoid incorrect decisions and disadvantages for the data subjects.
5. Storage limitation (Article 5 paragraph 1 letter e GDPR):
   • Personal data may only be stored for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it is processed. After this time, the data must be deleted or anonymized. The storage limitation serves to reduce data volumes and minimize the risks posed by data stored for an unnecessarily long time.
6. Integrity and confidentiality (Article 5(1)(f) GDPR):
   • Personal data must be processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical and organisational measures. The integrity and confidentiality of data is crucial to protect the rights and freedoms of data subjects.
7. Accountability (Article 5 paragraph 2 GDPR):
   • The controller is responsible for compliance with the above principles and must be able to demonstrate compliance. Accountability requires companies to implement and document appropriate measures and procedures to comply with data protection regulations. This includes maintaining a register of processing activities, conducting data protection impact assessments, implementing technical and organizational measures to protect data and training employees in data protection.

Relevant articles of the GDPR:

• Article 5: Principles governing the processing of personal data
• Article 24: Responsibility of the controller
• Article 25: Data protection by design and by default
• Article 30: List of processing activities
• Article 35: Data protection impact assessment

Examples of the application of the principles:

• Legality: An online retailer must obtain the consent of its customers before using their personal data for marketing purposes. This consent must be clear and understandable and customers must be informed that they can withdraw their consent at any time.
• Purpose limitation: A company that collects personal data from its employees for payroll purposes may not simply use that data for other purposes, such as marketing or analytics, unless there is consent or another legal basis.
• Data minimization: An app that provides weather information should only collect and process the user location data necessary to provide the service and no other personal information that is not necessary for the service.
• Accuracy: A telecommunications provider must ensure that its customers’ contact details are regularly checked and updated to ensure that invoices and important notices are sent to the correct address.
• Storage limitation: An employer must delete the application documents of rejected applicants after a certain period of time, unless there is a legal reason for longer retention, such as compliance with retention periods.
• Integrity and confidentiality: A hospital must implement appropriate security measures, such as access controls and encryption, to ensure that patient health data is protected from unauthorized access and data loss.
• Accountability: A company must be able to demonstrate to the supervisory authority that it has taken all necessary measures to comply with the GDPR, including documenting consents, conducting data protection impact assessments and training employees.

Summary:

The principles of the GDPR are crucial to protecting personal data and preserving the rights and freedoms of data subjects. Companies must take these principles into account in all aspects of their data processing and take appropriate measures to ensure that processing is lawful, transparent, purpose-limited, data-minimized, accurate, limited, secure and accountable. Compliance with these principles helps to increase the trust of data subjects and minimize the risk of data breaches.