Source: OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, pp. 1–88 · Consolidated textCurrent language: EN
- General data protection
Basic legislative acts
- GDPR regulation
Article 27 Representatives of controllers or processors not established in the Union
Summary What does Article 27 of the GDPR regulation say?
This article directly extends from Article 3(2), which brings non-EU controllers and processors within the scope of the GDPR when they target or monitor individuals in the Union.
Article 27 sets out the practical consequence of that territorial reach: those non-EU entities must appoint a written representative based within the Union.
The article also defines the role of that representative, establishes where they must be located, and carves out limited exceptions to the requirement.
Important points:
- Controllers and processors not established in the EU must designate a written representative in the Union, unless an exemption applies (occasional, low-risk processing not involving sensitive data, or public authorities).
- The representative must be located in a Member State where the affected data subjects are, and can be addressed by supervisory authorities and data subjects in place of, or alongside, the controller or processor.
- Appointing a representative does not shield the controller or processor from legal actions being brought directly against them.
Springlex's summary of the article is a reading aid, not a substitute for the legal text.
Where Article 3(2) applies, the controller or the processor shall designate in writing a representative in the Union.
The obligation laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to:
processing which is occasional, does not include, on a large scale, processing of special categories of data as referred to in Article 9(1) or processing of personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences referred to in Article 10, and is unlikely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons, taking into account the nature, context, scope and purposes of the processing; or
a public authority or body.
The representative shall be established in one of the Member States where the data subjects, whose personal data are processed in relation to the offering of goods or services to them, or whose behaviour is monitored, are.
The representative shall be mandated by the controller or processor to be addressed in addition to or instead of the controller or the processor by, in particular, supervisory authorities and data subjects, on all issues related to processing, for the purposes of ensuring compliance with this Regulation.
The designation of a representative by the controller or processor shall be without prejudice to legal actions which could be initiated against the controller or the processor themselves.
Relevant recitals
Recital 80 Requiring a non-EU representative
Where a controller or a processor not established in the Union is processing personal data of data subjects who are in the Union whose processing activities are related to the offering of goods or services, irrespective of whether a payment of the data subject is required, to such data subjects in the Union, or to the monitoring of their behaviour as far as their behaviour takes place within the Union, the controller or the processor should designate a representative, unless the processing is occasional, does not include processing, on a large scale, of special categories of personal data or the processing of personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences, and is unlikely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons, taking into account the nature, context, scope and purposes of the processing or if the controller is a public authority or body. The representative should act on behalf of the controller or the processor and may be addressed by any supervisory authority. The representative should be explicitly designated by a written mandate of the controller or of the processor to act on its behalf with regard to its obligations under this Regulation. The designation of such a representative does not affect the responsibility or liability of the controller or of the processor under this Regulation. Such a representative should perform its tasks according to the mandate received from the controller or processor, including cooperating with the competent supervisory authorities with regard to any action taken to ensure compliance with this Regulation. The designated representative should be subject to enforcement proceedings in the event of non-compliance by the controller or processor.
Springlex and this text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. No liability is assumed for its content. The authentic version of this act is the one published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
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processing
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controller
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processor
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representative
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supervisory authority
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personal data