A recital is part of the preamble to the GDPR — it explains the reasoning and intent behind the enacting articles. Recitals are not binding in themselves but are used to interpret the Regulation.
In order to ensure that natural persons are not deprived of the protection to which they are entitled under this Regulation, the processing of personal data of data subjects who are in the Union by a controller or a processor not established in the Union should be subject to this Regulation where the processing activities are related to offering goods or services to such data subjects irrespective of whether connected to a payment. 2 In order to determine whether such a controller or processor is offering goods or services to data subjects who are in the Union, it should be ascertained whether it is apparent that the controller or processor envisages offering services to data subjects in one or more Member States in the Union. 3 Whereas the mere accessibility of the controller's, processor's or an intermediary's website in the Union, of an email address or of other contact details, or the use of a language generally used in the third country where the controller is established, is insufficient to ascertain such intention, factors such as the use of a language or a currency generally used in one or more Member States with the possibility of ordering goods and services in that other language, or the mentioning of customers or users who are in the Union, may make it apparent that the controller envisages offering goods or services to data subjects in the Union.
* This title is an unofficial description.
Recital 22
Recital 24
All recitals
Report error
Source: Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1), preamble. Official text reproduced from EUR-Lex — © European Union.
Looking for the binding rules? Browse the 99 GDPR articles — the recitals explain the intent behind them.
Need to apply the GDPR in practice?
Our data-protection lawyers turn the text into a plan.