Legal grounds for processing personal data

In the European Union, the legal grounds for the processing of personal data are laid down in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This regulation specifies the conditions under which the processing of personal data is lawful and legitimate.

There are several legal grounds that allow the processing of personal data, among which the most common are:

1. Consent: the data controller may process personal data if the data subject has given free, specific and informed consent to the processing.
2. Performance of a contract: the data controller may process the personal data in order to perform a contract to which the data subject is a party, or to take action at the data subject’s request prior to the conclusion of a contract.
3. Compliance with a legal obligation: the data controller may process personal data in order to comply with a legal obligation.
4. Legitimate interest: the data controller may process personal data if necessary to protect its legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of other persons, provided that this does not prejudice the fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject.
5. Emergency situations: the data controller may process personal data in emergency situations involving the protection of human life.
6. The processing is necessary for the performance of a task serving a public interest or resulting from the exercise of official authority vested in the controller;

It is important to note that in any case, the data controller must comply with the GDPR principles, such as those relating to data minimization, storage duration, data accuracy, confidentiality and security.