2. Personal data protection basics 2.1. What is personal data and its processing? Understanding the concepts of personal data and its processing is fundamental for compliance with the GDPR.36 Only the processing of personal data is regulated. This means that if the data processed is not
A piece of information constitutes personal data if it relates to an individual human being, directly or indirectly, and hence such a piece of information is protected by law against misuse. In contrast, if a piece of information cannot be attributed to an individual, its free circulation is actually encouraged by law.37
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Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation), OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, 1-88 http://data.europa. eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj.
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Cf. e.g. Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on open data and the re-use of public sector information, OJ L 172, 26.6.2019, 56–83 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2019/1024/oj.
2. Personal data protection basics
personal, the GDPR does not apply.
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