Every organisation, regardless of the their size or sector, established in the European Economic Area (EEA) or offering products or services to individuals in the EEA, processing personal data whether or not by automated means needs to comply with the GDPR. Even if the GDPR mainly relates to automated processing of personal data, processing operations carried out manually will also be subject to the GDPR from the moment the paper files are organised in a systematic manner, e.g. ordered alphabetically in a filing cabinet. 

Examples of processing operations include collecting, recording, organising, using, modifying, storing, disclosing, altering and erasing individuals’ personal data.

Nevertheless, the application of the GDPR is modulated according to the nature, context, purposes and risks of the processing operations carried out. For SMEs whose core business is not the processing of personal data, the obligations can be less strict than for a large company.

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• Data protection basics

Yes, the GDPR applies if the personal data are contained or are intended to be contained in a filing system. This means that the GDPR also applies to paper records and not solely to automated processing of personal data.

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• Data protection basics

For consent to be considered valid, it must be:

• freely given;
• specific;
• informed; and
• unambiguous.

This means that individuals must have a genuinely free choice regarding whether or not they agree with the processing of their personal data; they need sufficient information so that they can understand which data is processed, for what purpose, and how this is done; they also need sufficient granularity in consent requests.

In addition, there should be a clear affirmative action from the individual (without pre-ticked boxes and made separately from applicable general conditions).

In addition, individuals need to be able to freely withdraw their consent (without any negative consequences) if they change their mind later on.

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• Process personal data lawfully

The GDPR foresees specific rights for individuals that have to be respected. You can do this by:

• informing individuals whose data you process about your processing operations and the processing purposes when you collect their data, for example via a privacy statement on your website;
• by responding to individuals’ requests to exercise their rights, such as access, rectification, objection, erasure or portability requests.

Organisations that are transparent about their use of personal data and that respect the rights of individuals are less likely to become subject to complaints.

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• Respect individuals’ rights

Individuals have the right to request erasure of personal data concerning them and in that case, the controller has the obligation to erase the personal data. You should respond without undue delay and at the latest within one month after receipt of the request. This deadline can be extended by another two months if the request is too complex and more time is needed to comply with the request, provided that the individual is informed of this within one month after receiving the request.

It is important to note that the right to erasure is not absolute. It does not apply when the data in question is necessary for:

• exercising the right to freedom of expression and information (e.g. for journalistic purposes);
• compliance with a legal obligation which requires the processing of personal data (e.g. processing records on employees’ work hours);
• reasons of public interest in the area of public health
• archiving purposes in the public interest or scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes; and
• the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

When the personal data that is to be erased was previously transferred to other organisations, you must inform these recipients that the individual has requested erasure, unless this proves impossible or would require disproportionate efforts.

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• Respect individuals’ rights

   

Yes, but in order to do this, you will first need to determine the legal basis for processing this type of personal data. For example, the processing could be considered as a legitimate interest for your organisation. When processing personal data on the basis of legitimate interest, it is always necessary to conduct a balancing test to determine whether your legitimate interests outweigh individuals’ rights, particularly if children are involved.

Another possible legal basis for such processing could be consent. At any rate, individuals should always be informed in advance that the event is being photographed or filmed.

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• Process personal data lawfully

Consent could indeed be a valid legal basis for storing job applicants’ CVs. Another possible legal basis could be legitimate interest. In that case, you would have to carry out a balancing test to prove that your organisation’s legitimate interests outweigh the applicants’ rights.

At any rate, you will have to inform the candidates that you plan to store their data and for which purposes.

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• Process personal data lawfully

The DPO cannot be held responsible for failure to comply with the GDPR. Compliance with the GDPR is the responsibility of the organisation that appointed the DPO.

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• Data Protection Officer

The appointment of a DPO is mandatory in the following three cases:

• the organisation is a public authority;
• the organisation’s core activities consist in regular and systematic monitoring of individuals on a large scale, for example geolocation via a mobile application, or surveillance of shopping centres and public spaces through CCTV;
• the organisation’s core activities consist in large-scale processing of sensitive data  or personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences.

You can always appoint a DPO on a voluntary basis, even if this is not legally required. Please note that in that case, you must comply with all the provisions of the GDPR concerning the tasks and position of the data protection officer.

More information:

• Data Protection Officer

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Authentication cookies are also important to identify users when they log into banking services and other online services. The information stored in cookies can include personal data, such as an IP address, a username, a unique identifier, or an email address.