Skip to main content

Article 5 — Purpose Limitation and Data Minimisation

  1. Personal data shall be collected for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes and shall not be further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes. Further processing for archival purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes, or statistical purposes shall not be considered incompatible with the original purposes, provided that appropriate technical and organisational safeguards are in place.
  2. The controller shall clearly identify and document the purposes of processing before any personal data is collected. Any change in purpose shall be assessed for compatibility with the original purpose, taking into account:
    1. the link between the original purpose and the proposed new purpose;
    2. the context in which the personal data was collected, in particular the relationship between the data subject and the controller;
    3. the nature of the personal data, and in particular whether sensitive personal data as defined in Article 2(1)(b) is involved;
    4. the possible consequences of the intended further processing for the data subject;
    5. the existence of appropriate safeguards, which may include encryption or pseudonymisation.
  3. Personal data shall be adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which it is processed. The controller shall not collect personal data beyond what is strictly required to achieve the stated purpose.
  4. Where the purpose of processing can be achieved using anonymised or pseudonymised data, the controller shall prefer anonymisation or, where that is not feasible, pseudonymisation over the processing of directly identifiable personal data.
  5. The controller shall periodically review the personal data held to ensure that it remains adequate, relevant, and necessary for the purposes of processing, and shall erase or anonymise any personal data that no longer satisfies those criteria.