Article 4 of the GDPR: what should we remember?
Article 4 of the GDPR explained
This article defines no less than 26 essential terms of the GDPR, including:
- Personal data: any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.
- Treatment: any operation or set of operations applied to data (collection, recording, organization, modification, etc.).
- Data controller: the person or entity who determines the purposes and means of the processing.
- Subcontractor: entity that processes data on behalf of the controller.
- Consent, profiling, pseudonymization, etc.
These definitions make it possible to understand the other articles and to speak the same language as the supervisory authorities (such as the CNIL).
Why is this article important for your GDPR compliance?
Without mastering the definitions in Article 4, you risk misinterpret your obligations, or not knowing whether an action constitutes data processing.
It is also crucial for train your teams and write your internal policies clearly and in compliance with the GDPR.
How to comply with Article 4 of the GDPR?
- Familiarize yourself with the 26 definitions from article 4.
- Use these definitions in your documentation: processing register, confidentiality policy, contracts.
- Ensure that all internal stakeholders and partners use the same definitions to avoid ambiguity.
Examples of application of Article 4 of the GDPR
- A company identifies a user via their IP address: this falls within the definition of personal data.
- A web agency hosting a client site with contact forms is a subcontractor according to article 4.
- A company that segments its customers based on their online behavior carries out an operation profiling.
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