Member states may restrict certain rights and obligations by law — for example for national security, defence or the prevention of crime — provided the restriction respects the essence of the rights and is necessary and proportionate.
Official text & source
Article 23 of the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679). Read the full, authoritative text on EUR-Lex.
Official text
Verbatim text of Article 23 of the General Data Protection Regulation — Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
Union or Member State law to which the data controller or processor is subject may restrict by way of a legislative measure the scope of the obligations and rights provided for in Articles 12 to 22 and Article 34 , as well as Article 5 in so far as its provisions correspond to the rights and obligations provided for in Articles 12 to 22 , when such a restriction respects the essence of the fundamental rights and freedoms and is a necessary and proportionate measure in a democratic society to safeguard:
national security;
defence;
public security;
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;
other important objectives of general public interest of the Union or of a Member State, in particular an important economic or financial interest of the Union or of a Member State, including monetary, budgetary and taxation matters, public health and social security;
the protection of judicial independence and judicial proceedings;
the prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of breaches of ethics for regulated professions;
a monitoring, inspection or regulatory function connected, even occasionally, to the exercise of official authority in the cases referred to in points (a) to (e) and (g);
the protection of the data subject or the rights and freedoms of others;
the enforcement of civil law claims.
In particular, any legislative measure referred to in paragraph 1 shall contain specific provisions at least, where relevant, as to:
the purposes of the processing or categories of processing;
the categories of personal data;
the scope of the restrictions introduced;
the safeguards to prevent abuse or unlawful access or transfer;
the specification of the controller or categories of controllers;
the storage periods and the applicable safeguards taking into account the nature, scope and purposes of the processing or categories of processing;
the risks to the rights and freedoms of data subjects; and
the right of data subjects to be informed about the restriction, unless that may be prejudicial to the purpose of the restriction.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1). Official text reproduced from EUR-Lex — © European Union. Only European Union legislation published in the Official Journal is deemed authentic.
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