Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 4 U.K. Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation:

[F1 (A1) ‘the 2018 Act’ means the Data Protection Act 2018;

(A2) ‘domestic law’ means the law of the United Kingdom or of a part of the United Kingdom;

(A3) ‘the Commissioner’ means the Information Commissioner (see section 114 of the 2018 Act);]

(1) ‘personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person;

(2) ‘processing’ means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction;

(3) ‘restriction of processing’ means the marking of stored personal data with the aim of limiting their processing in the future;

(4) ‘profiling’ means any form of automated processing of personal data consisting of the use of personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyse or predict aspects concerning that natural person's performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behaviour, location or movements;

(5) ‘pseudonymisation’ means the processing of personal data in such a manner that the personal data can no longer be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, provided that such additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organisational measures to ensure that the personal data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person;

(6) ‘filing system’ means any structured set of personal data which are accessible according to specific criteria, whether centralised, decentralised or dispersed on a functional or geographical basis;

(7) ‘controller’ means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data [F2 (but see section 6 of the 2018 Act)];

(8) ‘processor’ means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller;

(9) ‘recipient’ means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or another body, to which the personal data are disclosed, whether a third party or not. However, public authorities which may receive personal data in the framework of a particular inquiry in accordance with [F3 domestic law]  shall not be regarded as recipients; the processing of those data by those public authorities shall be in compliance with the applicable data protection rules according to the purposes of the processing;

(10) ‘third party’ means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or body other than the data subject, controller, processor and persons who, under the direct authority of the controller or processor, are authorised to process personal data;

[F4 (10A) ‘public authority’ and ‘public body’ are to be interpreted in accordance with section 7 of the 2018 Act and provision made under that section;]

(11) ‘consent’ of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject's wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her;

(12) ‘personal data breach’ means a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed;

(13) ‘genetic data’ means personal data relating to the inherited or acquired genetic characteristics of a natural person which give unique information about the physiology or the health of that natural person and which result, in particular, from an analysis of a biological sample from the natural person in question;

(14) ‘biometric data’ means personal data resulting from specific technical processing relating to the physical, physiological or behavioural characteristics of a natural person, which allow or confirm the unique identification of that natural person, such as facial images or dactyloscopic data;

(15) ‘data concerning health’ means personal data related to the physical or mental health of a natural person, including the provision of health care services, which reveal information about his or her health status;

F5 (16) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(17) ‘representative’ means a natural or legal person established in [F6 the United Kingdom] who, designated by the controller or processor in writing pursuant to Article 27, represents the controller or processor with regard to their respective obligations under this Regulation;

(18) ‘enterprise’ means a natural or legal person engaged in an economic activity, irrespective of its legal form, including partnerships or associations regularly engaged in an economic activity;

(19) ‘group of undertakings’ means a controlling undertaking and its controlled undertakings;

(20) ‘binding corporate rules’ means personal data protection policies which are adhered to by a controller or processor established [F7 in the United Kingdom] for transfers or a set of transfers of personal data to a controller or processor in one or more third countries within a group of undertakings, or group of enterprises engaged in a joint economic activity;

F8 (21) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F9 (21A) ‘foreign designated authority’ means an authority designated for the purposes of Article 13 of the Data Protection Convention (as defined in section 3 of the 2018 Act) by a party, other than the United Kingdom, which is bound by that Convention;]

F10 (22) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F10 (23) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F10 (24) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(25) ‘information society service’ means a service as defined in point (b) of Article 1(1) of Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council(1)[F11 as it has effect immediately before IP completion day];

(26) ‘international organisation’ means an organisation and its subordinate bodies governed by public international law, or any other body which is set up by, or on the basis of, an agreement between two or more countries.

[F12 (27) ‘third country’ means a country or territory outside the United Kingdom;

[F13 (28) references to fundamental rights or fundamental freedoms (however expressed) are to the Convention rights within the meaning of the Human Rights Act 1998.]]

Textual Amendments

F1 Arts. 4(A1)-(A3) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 6(2) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F2 Words in Art. 4(7) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 6(3) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F3 Words in Art. 4(9) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 6(4) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F4 Art. 4(10A) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 6(5) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F5 Art. 4(16) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 6(6) (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F6 Words in Art. 4(17) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 6(7) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F7 Words in Art. 4(20) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 6(8) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F8 Art. 4(21) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 6(9) (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F9 Art. 4(21A) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 6(10) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F10 Art. 4(22)(23)(24) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 6(11) (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F11 Words in Art. 4(25) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 6(12) (with reg. 5) (as amended by S.I. 2020/1586, regs. 1(2), 4(3)(a); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F12 Art. 4(27)(28) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 6(13) (with reg. 5) (as amended by S.I. 2020/1586, regs. 1(2), 4(3)(b)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F13 Art. 4(28) substituted (31.12.2023 immediately before the end of 2023) by The Data Protection (Fundamental Rights and Freedoms) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1417), regs. 1(2), 2(3)

(1)

Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical regulations and of rules on Information Society services (OJ L 241, 17.9.2015, p. 1).