GDPR Recitals

Recital 63Right of Access

All 173 Recitals Regulation (EU) 2016/679

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.

A data subject should have the right of access to personal data which have been collected concerning him or her, and to exercise that right easily and at reasonable intervals, in order to be aware of, and verify, the lawfulness of the processing. 2 This includes the right for data subjects to have access to data concerning their health, for example the data in their medical records containing information such as diagnoses, examination results, assessments by treating physicians and any treatment or interventions provided. 3 Every data subject should therefore have the right to know and obtain communication in particular with regard to the purposes for which the personal data are processed, where possible the period for which the personal data are processed, the recipients of the personal data, the logic involved in any automatic personal data processing and, at least when based on profiling, the consequences of such processing. 4 Where possible, the controller should be able to provide remote access to a secure system which would provide the data subject with direct access to his or her personal data. 5 That right should not adversely affect the rights or freedoms of others, including trade secrets or intellectual property and in particular the copyright protecting the software. 6 However, the result of those considerations should not be a refusal to provide all information to the data subject. 7 Where the controller processes a large quantity of information concerning the data subject, the controller should be able to request that, before the information is delivered, the data subject specify the information or processing activities to which the request relates.

* This title is an unofficial description.

Recital 62

Recital 64

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Source: Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1), preamble. Official text reproduced from EUR-Lex — © European Union.

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