Chapter 2 · Principles

Article 5Principles relating to processing of personal data

All 99 Articles Chapter 2: Principles

The seven principles at the heart of the GDPR. Every processing activity must satisfy all of them, and you must be able to demonstrate that it does (accountability).

Key points

  • Lawfulness, fairness and transparency; purpose limitation; data minimisation.
  • Accuracy; storage limitation; integrity and confidentiality (security).
  • Accountability — you must be able to show your compliance, not just assert it.

Official text & source

Article 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679). Read the full, authoritative text on EUR-Lex.

Official text on EUR-Lex

Official text

Verbatim text of Article 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation — Regulation (EU) 2016/679.

Personal data shall be:

processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject (‘lawfulness, fairness and transparency’);

collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes; further processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes shall, in accordance with Article 89 (1), not be considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes (‘purpose limitation’);

adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed (‘data minimisation’);

accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that personal data that are inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased or rectified without delay (‘accuracy’);

kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed; personal data may be stored for longer periods insofar as the personal data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89( 1) subject to implementation of the appropriate technical and organisational measures required by this Regulation in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the data subject (‘storage limitation’);

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 or organisational measures (‘integrity and confidentiality’).

The controller shall be responsible for, and be able to demonstrate compliance with, paragraph 1 (‘accountability’).

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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These summaries are a plain-English orientation only and are not a substitute for the official text of the Regulation or for legal advice.

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