Data subject rights under EU data protection law

Nov. 1908 — Rhodes Mfg. Co., Lincolnton, N.C. / Spinner- A moments glimpse of the outer world. Said she was 10 years old. Been working over a year. / Library Of Congress / Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874–1940, photographer

Under European Union (EU) data protection law, data protection is a fundamental right separate and independent from the right to privacy. The EU right to data protection is articulated in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, Article 8, which states:

(1) Everyone has the right to protection of personal data concerning him or her.

(2) Such data must be processed fairly for specified purposes and on the basis of the consent of the person concerned or some other legitimate basis laid down by law. Everyone has the right of access to data which has been collected concerning him or her, and the right to have it rectified.

(3) Compliance with these rules shall be subject to control by an independent authority.

This means that every individual is entitled to have personal data about them processed in a fair and legal way. Europeans have a fundamental right to access data about them and to have that data rectified in certain circumstances. Controllers processing personal data under EU data…