Article 30 📖 GDPR. Records of processing activities

Article 30 GDPR. Records of processing activities

1. Each controller and, where applicable, the controller’s representative, shall maintain a record of processing activities under its responsibility. That record shall contain all of the following information:

(a) the name and contact details of the controller and, where applicable, the joint controller, the controller’s representative and the data protection officer;

(b) the purposes of the processing;

(c) a description of the categories of data subjects and of the categories of personal data;

(d) the categories of recipients to whom the personal data have been or will be disclosed including recipients in third countries or international organisations;

(e) where applicable, transfers of personal data to a third country or an international organisation, including the identification of that third country or international organisation and, in the case of transfers referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 49(1), the documentation of suitable safeguards;

Article 49 GDPR. Derogations for specific situations

[…]

Where a transfer could not be based on a provision in Article 45 or 46, including the provisions on binding corporate rules, and none of the derogations for a specific situation referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph is applicable, a transfer to a third country or an international organisation may take place only if the transfer is not repetitive, concerns only a limited number of data subjects, is necessary for the purposes of compelling legitimate interests pursued by the controller which are not overridden by the interests or rights and freedoms of the data subject, and the controller has assessed all the circumstances surrounding the data transfer and has on the basis of that assessment provided suitable safeguards with regard to the protection of personal data. The controller shall inform the supervisory authority of the transfer. The controller shall, in addition to providing the information referred to in Articles 13 and 14, inform the data subject of the transfer and on the compelling legitimate interests pursued.

[…]

(f) where possible, the envisaged time limits for erasure of the different categories of data;

(g) where possible, a general description of the technical and organisational security measures referred to in Article 32(1).

Article 32 GDPR. Security of processing

1. Taking into account the state of the art, the costs of implementation and the nature, scope, context and purposes of processing as well as the risk of varying likelihood and severity for the rights and freedoms of natural persons, the controller and the processor shall implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk, including inter alia as appropriate:

(a) the pseudonymisation and encryption of personal data;

(b) the ability to ensure the ongoing confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience of processing systems and services;

(c) the ability to restore the availability and access to personal data in a timely manner in the event of a physical or technical incident;

(d) a process for regularly testing, assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of technical and organisational measures for ensuring the security of the processing.

[…]

2. Each processor and, where applicable, the processor’s representative shall maintain a record of all categories of processing activities carried out on behalf of a controller, containing:

(a) the name and contact details of the processor or processors and of each controller on behalf of which the processor is acting, and, where applicable, of the controller’s or the processor’s representative, and the data protection officer;

(b) the categories of processing carried out on behalf of each controller;

(c) where applicable, transfers of personal data to a third country or an international organisation, including the identification of that third country or international organisation and, in the case of transfers referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 49(1), the documentation of suitable safeguards;

(d) where possible, a general description of the technical and organisational security measures referred to in Article 32(1).

Article 32 GDPR. Security of processing

(a) the pseudonymisation and encryption of personal data;

(b) the ability to ensure the ongoing confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience of processing systems and services;

(c) the ability to restore the availability and access to personal data in a timely manner in the event of a physical or technical incident;

(d) a process for regularly testing, assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of technical and organisational measures for ensuring the security of the processing.

[…]

3. The records referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be in writing, including in electronic form.

4. The controller or the processor and, where applicable, the controller’s or the processor’s representative, shall make the record available to the supervisory authority on request.

5. The obligations referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to an enterprise or an organisation employing fewer than 250 persons unless the processing it carries out is likely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of data subjects, the processing is not occasional, or the processing includes special categories of data as referred to in Article 9(1) or personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences referred to in Article 10.

Guidelines & Case Law Related

Guidelines & Case Law

Document

Article 29 Working Party, Position Paper on the Derogations from the Obligation to Maintain Records of Processing Activities pursuant to Article 30(5) GDPR (2018).

Article 9 GDPR. Processing of special categories of personal data

1. Processing of personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation shall be prohibited.

[…]

Article 10 GDPR. Processing of personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences

Processing of personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences or related security measures based on Article 6(1) shall be carried out only under the control of official authority or when the processing is authorised by Union or Member State law providing for appropriate safeguards for the rights and freedoms of data subjects. Any comprehensive register of criminal convictions shall be kept only under the control of official authority.

General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR)

The latest consolidated version of the Regulation with corrections by Corrigendum, OJ L 127, 23.5.2018, p. 2 ((EU) 2016/679). Source: EUR-lex.

Explanation Recitals Guidelines & Case Law Leave a comment

Explanation

Article 30 is pretty straightforward and gives us very direct instructions on what document has to be created and what information has to be in it. Often it is enough to create a spreadsheet or a simple Excel table if the number of your processing activities is not so high, but if it doesn’t scale well, there are also specialised software solutions for Register of Processing Activities.

At times, the obligation to keep Register of Processing Activities might look like yet another bureaucratic procedure that the GDPR requires in order to make the processing of personal data more difficult. On the other hand, we see it as an important tool and process not only for compliance, but for controllers and/or processors themselves.

Here is why.

While planning our compliance program, we often tend to give preference to those steps, that have a strong external impact, such as Privacy Policies, the language of consent banners, etc. because this is what the “outside world”, and data subjects in particular are facing. And while this prioritisation makes a lot of sense, in an effort to make an ideal text for a Privacy Policy we can easily forget about the importance of internal documentation, such as the Register of Processing Activities. In which case we lose a very good way to have a clear and understandable overview of what, why and how personal data are being processed. Obviously, compliance with Article 30 is also a big motivator for controllers and processors to establish and keep the register. But here are more reasons why does the GDPR dedicate a separate article to it and why we, as privacy professionals, see is as a tool, that controllers and processors can also benefit from.

Register makes us collect information about all the processing operations in a very structured way. This includes the information about such things, as legal basis of processing, which is Art. 6 and technical and organisational measures (Art. 32), etc. So, while working on the Register we are making steps to comply with other articles of the GDPR. Another helpful insight that companies often face while filling in the register is that some activities that are happening in the company do not serve the purpose anymore and can simply be suspended and data be deleted. This is exactly in accordance with minimisation principle (Art. 5(1c)), which is one of the main principles of the GDPR.
And even if we do have a good overview of all the processing activities happening in the company (or we think that we do) and do not feel the need and/or not see the usefulness of having it as a separate document, we often forget, that we also need to keep in mind the activities of our vendors (third parties, to whom data are disclosed, and especially processors, the difference between the two is described in Art. 4). Because the GDPR doesn’t differentiate between your operations as controller and the operations that you outsource to external processors. In means that a controller is liable for both in an equal way. So, since Art. 30(1d) obliges us to also specify the categories of recipients of data in our register where applicable, it is as a good trigger for “cleaning up” and gaining a good overview of how far to the outside our privacy program has to go.
The fact that we collect and keep this information in such a structured way, helps us to deal with the accountability principle (Art. 5.2). The principle says, that not only we must comply with the regulation, but we should be able to demonstrate the compliance anytime. In practice, the first thing what supervising authorities are asking for as a compliance proof during any revision is Register of Processing Activities.

This is why the GDPR puts the stress on the Register of Processing Activities by dedicating a separate article to it. In other words, we suggest not to look at this Article as a burden, but rather as a reason for a nice “spring cleaning” and a practical tool for it.

Author

Maria Arnst CIPM, TÜV

GDPR Consultant

Ask a question

Recitals

(13) In order to ensure a consistent level of protection for natural persons throughout the Union and to prevent divergences hampering the free movement of personal data within the internal market, a Regulation is necessary to provide legal certainty and transparency for economic operators, including micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and to provide natural persons in all Member States with the same level of legally enforceable rights and obligations and responsibilities for controllers and processors, to ensure consistent monitoring of the processing of personal data, and equivalent sanctions in all Member States as well as effective cooperation between the supervisory authorities of different Member States. The proper functioning of the internal market requires that the free movement of personal data within the Union is not restricted or prohibited for reasons connected with the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data. To take account of the specific situation of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, this Regulation includes a derogation for organisations with fewer than 250 employees with regard to record-keeping. In addition, the Union institutions and bodies, and Member States and their supervisory authorities, are encouraged to take account of the specific needs of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the application of this Regulation. The notion of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises should draw from Article 2 of the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC [5].

(39) Any processing of personal data should be lawful and fair. It should be transparent to natural persons that personal data concerning them are collected, used, consulted or otherwise processed and to what extent the personal data are or will be processed. The principle of transparency requires that any information and communication relating to the processing of those personal data be easily accessible and easy to understand, and that clear and plain language be used. That principle concerns, in particular, information to the data subjects on the identity of the controller and the purposes of the processing and further information to ensure fair and transparent processing in respect of the natural persons concerned and their right to obtain confirmation and communication of personal data concerning them which are being processed. Natural persons should be made aware of risks, rules, safeguards and rights in relation to the processing of personal data and how to exercise their rights in relation to such processing. In particular, the specific purposes for which personal data are processed should be explicit and legitimate and determined at the time of the collection of the personal data. The personal data should be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the purposes for which they are processed. This requires, in particular, ensuring that the period for which the personal data are stored is limited to a strict minimum. Personal data should be processed only if the purpose of the processing could not reasonably be fulfilled by other means. In order to ensure that the personal data are not kept longer than necessary, time limits should be established by the controller for erasure or for a periodic review. Every reasonable step should be taken to ensure that personal data which are inaccurate are rectified or deleted. Personal data should be processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security and confidentiality of the personal data, including for preventing unauthorised access to or use of personal data and the equipment used for the processing.

(82) In order to demonstrate compliance with this Regulation, the controller or processor should maintain records of processing activities under its responsibility. Each controller and processor should be obliged to cooperate with the supervisory authority and make those records, on request, available to it, so that it might serve for monitoring those processing operations.

Guidelines & Case Law

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO, Great Britain), Documentation template for controllers Information Commissioner's Office (ICO, Great Britain), Documentation template for processors