Data & Privacy
- Data Act
- Data Governance Act
- ePrivacy Directive
- GDPR
AI & Trust
- Artificial Intelligence Act
Cybersecurity
- Cybersecurity Act
- DORA
- NIS2
Digital Services & Media
- Digital Markets Act
- Digital Services Act
- European Media Freedom Act
General Data Protection Regulation
- Recitals
CHAPTER I
General provisionsArticles 1 — 4
CHAPTER II
PrinciplesArticles 5 — 11
CHAPTER III
Rights of the data subjectArticles 12 — 23
CHAPTER IV
Controller and processorArticles 24 — 43
CHAPTER V
Transfers of personal data to third countries or international organisationsArticles 44 — 50
CHAPTER VI
Independent supervisory authoritiesArticles 51 — 59
CHAPTER VII
Cooperation and consistencyArticles 60 — 76
CHAPTER VIII
Remedies, liability and penaltiesArticles 77 — 84
CHAPTER IX
Provisions relating to specific processing situationsArticles 85 — 91
CHAPTER X
Delegated acts and implementing actsArticles 92 — 93
CHAPTER XI
Final provisionsArticles 94 — 99
GDPR Article 17. Right to erasure (‘right to be forgotten’)
- 1.The data subject shall have the right to obtain from the controller the erasure of personal data concerning him or her without undue delay and the controller shall have the obligation to erase personal data without undue delay where one of the following grounds applies:
- (a)the personal data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed;
- (b)the data subject withdraws consent on which the processing is based according to point (a) of Article 6(1), or point (a) of Article 9(2), and where there is no other legal ground for the processing;
- (c)the data subject objects to the processing pursuant to Article 21(1) and there are no overriding legitimate grounds for the processing, or the data subject objects to the processing pursuant to Article 21(2);
- (d)the personal data have been unlawfully processed;
- (e)the personal data have to be erased for compliance with a legal obligation in Union or Member State law to which the controller is subject;
- (f)the personal data have been collected in relation to the offer of information society services referred to in Article 8(1).
- 2.Where the controller has made the personal data public and is obliged pursuant to paragraph 1 to erase the personal data, the controller, taking account of available technology and the cost of implementation, shall take reasonable steps, including technical measures, to inform controllers which are processing the personal data that the data subject has requested the erasure by such controllers of any links to, or copy or replication of, those personal data.
- 3.Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to the extent that processing is necessary:
- (a)for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information;
- (b)for compliance with a legal obligation which requires processing by Union or Member State law to which the controller is subject or for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller;
- (c)for reasons of public interest in the area of public health in accordance with points (h) and (i) of Article 9(2) as well as Article 9(3);
- (d)for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) in so far as the right referred to in paragraph 1 is likely to render impossible or seriously impair the achievement of the objectives of that processing; or
- (e)for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
Relevant Recitals for this Article
A data subject should have the right to have personal data concerning him or her rectified and a ‘right to be forgotten’ where the retention of such data infringes this Regulation or Union or Member State law to which the controller is subject. In particular, a data subject should have the right to have his or her personal data erased and no longer processed where the personal data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are collected or otherwise processed, where a data subject has withdrawn his or her consent or objects to the processing of personal data concerning him or her, or where the processing of his or her personal data does not otherwise comply with this Regulation. That right is relevant in particular where the data subject has given his or her consent as a child and is not fully aware of the risks involved by the processing, and later wants to remove such personal data, especially on the internet. The data subject should be able to exercise that right notwithstanding the fact that he or she is no longer a child. However, the further retention of the personal data should be lawful where it is necessary, for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information, for compliance with a legal obligation, for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller, on the grounds of public interest in the area of public health, for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes, or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
To strengthen the right to be forgotten in the online environment, the right to erasure should also be extended in such a way that a controller who has made the personal data public should be obliged to inform the controllers which are processing such personal data to erase any links to, or copies or replications of those personal data. In doing so, that controller should take reasonable steps, taking into account available technology and the means available to the controller, including technical measures, to inform the controllers which are processing the personal data of the data subject's request.