Seven Principles of GDPR: Simplified Overview
The General Data Protection Regulation is based on seven core principles that underline the lawful and ethical processing of personal data. Furthermore, seven principles of GDPR are crucial safeguards in securing individuals’ privacy and are also essential for compliance under this regime.
Lawfulness, Fairness, and Transparency
- Lawfulness: Processing should be based on a lawful basis, such as the consent of the person concerned, the performance of a contract, or compliance with a legal obligation.
- Fairness: Processing should be fair in regard to the person concerned, having due respect for his/her rights and interests.
- Transparency: Controllers should clearly communicate how they process data and readily provide individuals with information about how their data is used.
Purpose Limitation
Organizations should obtain personal data only for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes. They must not reprocess it for other purposes unless those purposes are compatible, such as for research or statistical purposes in the public interest.
Data Minimisation
Personal data collected and processed must be relevant and aligned with the pursued purpose. Consequently, this limits the handling of data and helps to avoid unnecessary invasion of the private lives of individuals concerned.
Accuracy
Personal data should be accurate and, when required, kept up to date. Take reasonable steps to promptly rectify or delete inaccurate personal data to prevent adverse consequences or misleading results.
Storage Limitation
Personal data should be kept only for the period necessary to meet the purpose of its collection. Controllers must have a defined policy on data retention with provision for timely deletion or anonymization of data that is no longer useful.
Integrity and Confidentiality (Security)
Organizations should process personal data securely. They must implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect data from unauthorized access, loss, and damage.
Accountability
Controllers must ensure and demonstrate compliance with GDPR principles emphasizing accountability. This includes maintaining records of processing activities, conducting impact assessments, and implementing data protection measures.
Compliance with these principles is relevant for legal purposes: it protects the citizen’s privacy and increases the trust of data subjects in the controller. Violation of these principles may result in serious administrative fines and a tainted reputation of an organization.
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