If you’ve been following the latest data protection news, you might have heard that under the GDPR, you can be either a data controller or a data processor.

A “Controller’ is defined in the Regulation as: 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.

On the other hand the Regulation defines a processor as ‘a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller’.

But the GDPR puts almost all the emphasis of enforcement on data controllers. So; what does a data processor have to do in terms of their obligations? They clearly have a very important role, even if it might not seem that way in purely legal terms.

Well, don’t fear; the info you crave is here.

The cloud. It’s all the rage with technology companies nowadays, and for good reason.

‘Cloud computing’ refers to the provision of information technology services over the Internet.

These services may be provided by a company for its users in a ‘private cloud’ or by third-party suppliers. The services can include software, infrastructure (i.e., servers), hosting and platforms (i.e., operating systems). Cloud computing has numerous applications, from personal webmail to corporate data storage.

The concepts of the “data controller” and “data processor” were established by the 1995 EU Data Protection Directive and remain fundamentally similar under the GDPR. This does not mean they are straightforward or mutually exclusive.

In practice, the application of these concepts has become increasingly complex due to the evolving nature of the business environment, the increased sophistication of outsourcing, and the growing tendency of organisations to centralise IT systems. However, they remain key for determining the allocation of legal obligations under the GDPR, which is essential for protecting the rights and freedoms of data subjects.

A data controller is the natural or legal person or any other body which alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data. In other words, the data controller is the key decision maker with regards to personal data.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen plenty of people saying that the upcoming GDPR only applies to EU Citizens. Nope. This is a major misconception. Let me clear this up a bit.

The GDPR applies:

a) to the processing of personal data in the context of the activities of an establishment of a data controller or a processor in the EU, regardless of whether the processing takes place in the Union or not.

and

b) on a long-arm, extraterritorial basis to organisations which offer to sell goods or services to or who monitor individuals in the EU.

“Establishment” means the effective and real exercise of activity through stable arrangements. (the legal form of such arrangements, whether through a branch or a subsidiary with a legal personality, is not the determining factor in that respect).

And what does “in the context of activities of an establishment” mean? I think the Google Spain case decided by the Court of Justice of the European Union is really helpful here.

Have you heard of subject access requests? Sounds a bit technical but it really isn’t. It’s just the process whereby a customer or employee of an organisation can request access to all the personal data that the company has on them.

Not only that, but the data has to be organised into a common-read, easily transferable document. This right for people in the European Union has been around a long time – specifically since the EU Data Protection Directive was passed in 1995. However, the upcoming GDPR really strengthens various aspects of that previous law and introduces new, more aggressive controls and rights.