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;
(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;
ISO 27701
Related
ISO/IEC 27701, adopted in 2019, added additional ISO/IEC 27002 guidance for PII controllers.
Here is the relevant paragraphs to article 30(1)(e) GDPR:
7.5.1 Identify basis for PII transfer between jurisdictions
Control
The organization should identify and document the relevant basis for transfers of PII between jurisdictions.
Implementation guidance
PII transfer can be subject to legislation and/or regulation depending on the jurisdiction or international organization to which data is to be transferred (and from where it originates). The organization should document compliance to such requirements as the basis for transfer.
Some jurisdictions can require that information transfer agreements be reviewed by a designated supervisory authority. Organizations operating in such jurisdictions should be aware of any such requirements.
NOTE Where transfers take place within a specific jurisdiction, the applicable legislation and/or regulation are the same for the sender and recipient.
7.5.2 Countries and international organizations to which PII can be transferred
Control
The organization should specify and document the countries and international organizations to which PII can possibly be transferred.
Implementation guidance
The identities of the countries and international organizations to which PII can possibly be transferred in normal operations should be made available to customers. The identities of the countries arising from the use of subcontracted PII processing should be included. The countries included should be considered in relation to 7.5.1.
Outside of normal operations, there can be cases of transfer made at the request of a law enforcement authority, for which the identity of the countries cannot be specified in advance, or is prohibited by applicable jurisdictions to preserve the confidentiality of a law enforcement investigation (see 7.5.1, 8.5.4 and 8.5.5).
7.5.3 Records of transfer of PII
Control
The organization should record transfers of PII to or from third parties and ensure cooperation with those parties to support future requests related to obligations to the PII principals.
Implementation guidance
Recording can include transfers from third parties of PII which has been modified as a result of PII controllers’ managing their obligations, or transfers to third parties to implement legitimate requests from PII principals, including requests to erase PII (e.g. after consent withdrawal).
The organization should have a policy defining the retention period of these records.
The organization should apply the data minimization principle to the records of transfers by retaining only the strictly needed information.
7.5.4 Records of PII disclosure to third parties
Control
The organization should record disclosures of PII to third parties, including what PII has been disclosed, to whom and at what time.
Implementation guidance
PII can be disclosed during the course of normal operations. These disclosures should be recorded. Any additional disclosures to third parties, such as those arising from lawful investigations or external audits, should also be recorded. The records should include the source of the disclosure and the source of the authority to make the disclosure.
ISO 27701
ISO/IEC 27701, adopted in 2019, added additional ISO/IEC 27002 guidance for PII processors.
Here is the relevant paragraph to article 30(1)(f) GDPR:
8.4.2 Return, transfer or disposal of PII
Control
The organization should provide the ability to return, transfer and/or disposal of PII in a secure manner. It should also make its policy available to the customer.
Implementation guidance
At some point in time, PII can need to be disposed of in some manner. This can involve returning the PII to the customer, transferring it to another organization or to a PII controller (e.g. as a result of a merger), deleting or otherwise destroying it, de-identifying it or archiving it. The capability for the return, transfer and/or disposal of PII should be managed in a secure manner.
The organization should provide the assurance necessary to allow the customer to ensure that PII processed under a contract is erased (by the organization and any of its subcontractors) from wherever they are stored, including for the purposes of backup and business continuity, as soon as they are no longer necessary for the identified purposes of the customer.
The organization should develop and implement a policy in respect to the disposal of PII and should make this policy available to customer when requested.
The policy should cover the retention period for PII before its disposal after termination of a contract, to protect the customer from losing PII through an accidental lapse of the contract.
NOTE This control and guidance is also relevant under the retention principle (see 7.4.7).
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;
(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;
ISO 27701
ISO/IEC 27701, adopted in 2019, added additional ISO/IEC 27002 guidance for PII processors.
Here is the relevant paragraph to article 30(2)(c) GDPR:
8.5.2 Countries and international organizations to which PII can be transferred
Control
The organization should specify and document the countries and international organizations to which PII can possibly be transferred.
Implementation guidance
The identities of the countries and international organizations to which PII can possibly be transferred in normal operations should be made available to customers. The identities of the countries arising from the use of subcontracted PII processing should be included. The countries included should be considered in relation to 8.5.1.
Outside of normal operations, there can be cases of transfer made at the request of a law enforcement authority, for which the identity of the countries cannot be specified in advance, or is prohibited by applicable jurisdictions to preserve the confidentiality of a law enforcement investigation (see 7.5.1, 8.5.4 and 8.5.5).
(d) where possible, a general description of the technical and organisational security measures referred to in Article 32(1).
ISO 27701
Related
ISO/IEC 27701, adopted in 2019, added a requirement additional to ISO/IEC 27002, section 15.1.2.
Here is the relevant paragraph to article 30(2)(d) GDPR:
6.12.1.2 Addressing security within supplier agreements
Implementation guidance
The organization should specify in agreements with suppliers whether PII is processed and the minimum technical and organizational measures that the supplier needs to meet in order for the organization to meet its information security and PII protection obligations (see 7.2.6 and 8.2.1).
Supplier agreements should clearly allocate responsibilities between the organization, its partners, its suppliers and its applicable third parties (customers, suppliers, etc.) taking into account the type of PII processed.
The agreements between the organization and its suppliers should provide a mechanism for ensuring the organization supports and manages compliance with all applicable legislation and/or regulation. The agreements should call for independently audited compliance, acceptable to the customer.
NOTE For such audit purposes, compliance with relevant and applicable security and privacy standards such as ISO/IEC 27001 or this document can be considered.
ISO/IEC 27701, adopted in 2019, added a requirement additional to ISO/IEC 27002, section 18.1.1.
Here is the relevant paragraph to article 30(2)(d) GDPR:
6.15.1.1 Identification of applicable legislation and contractual requirements
Other information
The organization should identify any potential legal sanctions (which can result from some obligations being missed) related to the processing of PII, including substantial fines directly from the local supervisory authority. In some jurisdictions, International Standards such as this document can be used to form the basis for a contract between the organization and the customer, outlining their respective security, privacy and PII protection responsibilities. The terms of the contract can provide a basis for contractual sanctions in the event of a breach of those responsibilities.
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
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).
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.
Expert commentary
ISO 27701
Recitals
Guidelines & Case Law
Leave a comment
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.
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ISO/IEC 27701, adopted in 2019, added additional ISO/IEC 27002 guidance for PII controllers.
Here is the relevant paragraph to article 30 GDPR:
7.2.8 Records related to processing PII
Control
The organization should determine and securely maintain the necessary records in support of its obligations for the processing of PII.
Implementation guidance
A way to maintain records of the processing of PII is to have an inventory or list of the PII processing activities that the organization performs. Such an inventory can include:
— the type of processing;
— the purposes for the processing;
— a description of the categories of PII and PII principals (e.g. children);
— the categories of recipients to whom PII has been or will be disclosed, including recipients in third
countries or international organizations;
— a general description of the technical and organizational security measures; and
— a Privacy Impact Assessment report.
Such an inventory should have an owner who is responsible for its accuracy and completeness.
ISO/IEC 27701, adopted in 2019, added additional ISO/IEC 27002 guidance for PII processors.
Here is the relevant paragraph to article 30 GDPR:
8.2.6 Records related to processing PII
Control
The organization should determine and maintain the necessary records in support of demonstrating compliance with its obligations (as specified in the applicable contract) for the processing of PII carried out on behalf of a customer.
Implementation guidance
Some jurisdictions can require the organization to record information such as:
— categories of processing carried out on behalf of each customer;
— transfers to third countries or international organizations; and
— a general description of the technical and organizational security measures.
(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.
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO, Great Britain), Documentation template for controllers
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO, Great Britain), Documentation template for processors
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO, Great Britain), Right of Access (2020).
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ISO/IEC 27701, adopted in 2019, added additional ISO/IEC 27002 guidance for PII controllers.
Here is the relevant paragraph to article 30(1)(d) GDPR:
7.5.4 Records of PII disclosure to third parties
Control
The organization should record disclosures of PII to third parties, including what PII has been disclosed, to whom and at what time.
Implementation guidance
PII can be disclosed during the course of normal operations. These disclosures should be recorded. Any additional disclosures to third parties, such as those arising from lawful investigations or external audits, should also be recorded. The records should include the source of the disclosure and the source of the authority to make the disclosure.
ISO/IEC 27701, adopted in 2019, added additional ISO/IEC 27002 guidance for PII processors.
Here is the relevant paragraph to article 30(1)(d) GDPR:
8.5.3 Records of PII disclosure to third parties
Control
The organization should record disclosures of PII to third parties, including what PII has been disclosed, to whom and when.
Implementation guidance
PII can be disclosed during the course of normal operations. These disclosures should be recorded. Any additional disclosures to third parties, such as those arising from lawful investigations or external audits, should also be recorded. The records should include the source of the disclosure and the source of the authority to make the disclosure.