GDPR Glossary Also known as: legal basis, legal ground
One of the six legal grounds in Article 6 that every act of processing must rely on.
You must have a lawful basis for every processing activity. Article 6 sets out six: consent, contract, legal obligation, vital interests, public task, and legitimate interests.
You should identify and document the basis before you start processing — you cannot swap between them later to justify what you have already done.
In the Regulation
Related terms
ConsentA freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous agreement to processing — and one of the six lawful bases.Legitimate interestA flexible lawful basis for processing that is necessary for a genuine interest, balanced against the individual's rights.ProcessingAlmost anything you do with personal data — collecting, storing, using, sharing, or even deleting it.
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