license: apache-2.0
pipeline_tag: question-answering
tags:
- law article retrieval
- natural language processing
- information retrieval
- legal ai
- gdpr
- european law
- general data protection and regulation
language:
- en
task_categories:
- text-classification
- question-answering
Abstract
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) stands as one of the most significant legal frameworks for data protection and privacy in recent years. Enforced by the European Union (EU) since May 2018, the GDPR has garnered global attention due to its wide-reaching impact on businesses, organizations, and individuals, transcending geographical boundaries. While initially conceived to safeguard the data rights of EU citizens, its influence extends far beyond EU member states, making it a pivotal legislation worldwide. The GDPR consists of two components, namely the articles and recitals, whose main characteristics are described next.
Articles
The GDPR articles constitute the legal requirements that must be followed by organizations to demonstrate compliance. The GDPR currently in force consists of 99 articles, which are organized into 11 chapters: Chapter I, on General provisions, articles 1-4 – sets out the overall aims and scope of the GDPR, including its territorial scope and the definitions of key terms used throughout the regulation; Chapter II, on Principles, articles 5-11 – lays out the fundamental principles that orga- nizations must follow when collecting, processing, and storing personal data, including lawfulness, fairness, transparency, and purpose limitation; Chapter III, on Rights of the data subject, articles 12-23 – outlines the rights of individuals with regards to their personal data, including the right of access, the right to rectification, the right to erasure, the right to restriction of processing, and the right to data portability; Chapter IV, on Controller and Processor, articles 24-43 – sets out the obligations of data controllers and processors, including the obligation to appoint a data protection officer and to conduct data protection impact assessments; Chapter V, on Transfers of personal data to third countries or international organisations, articles 44-50 – sets out the rules for transferring personal data to third countries or interna- tional organizations, including the use of standard contractual clauses and binding corporate rules; Chapter VI, on Independent supervisory authorities, articles 51-59 – establishes the role of independent supervisory authorities and sets out their powers, including the power to investigate, impose administrative fines, and order the suspension of data processing; Chapter VII, on Cooperation and Consistency, articles 60-76 – sets out the obligations of data controllers and processors to cooperate with supervisory authorities and to ensure consistent application of the GDPR; Chapter VIII, on Remedies, liability and penalties, articles 77-84 – sets out the reme- dies available to individuals whose rights have been violated, including the right to receive compensation, and sets out the potential sanctions for organizations that breach the GDPR, including administrative fines and criminal sanctions; Chapter IX, on Provisions relating to specific processing situations, articles 85-91 – sets out specific rules for certain types of processing, including processing for scientific or historical research purposes, processing for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest, and processing for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims; Chapter X, on Delegated acts and implementing acts, articles 92-93 – sets out the powers of the European Commission to adopt delegated acts and implementing acts to further specify certain aspects of the GDPR; Chapter XI, on Final provisions, articles 94-99 – sets out the final provisions of the GDPR, including its entry into force.
Recitals
Inadditiontothearticles,GDPRiscomprisedofasetofintroductorystatements and explanations, called recitals, that provide context and guidance for the interpretation of the provisions of the regulation. They indeed provide valuable insights into the underlying objectives and policy considerations, and represent a valuable resource for determining the meaning and scope of the GDPR articles. The recitals are 173 in total, each associated to one or more articles; in turn, each article is associated with zero, one or more recitals. An example of the importance of recitals for GDPR articles can be found in the inter- pretation of the article 7(2) ‘Conditions for consent’, which emphasizes the importance of clear and transparent communication when obtaining consent for the processing of personal data. A guidance on how controllers can meet this requirement under the GDPR can be clarified and expanded upon by the recital 42, which is related to the article itself. This recital states that, when processing is based on the data subject’s consent, the controller must be able to demonstrate that the data subject has given consent to the processing operation. This means that the controller must have records or other evidence to prove that valid consent was obtained; furthermore, to be considered informed, the data subject must be aware of the identity of the controller and the purposes of the processing for which their personal data is intended. The GDPR hence encompasses a comprehensive set of norms and principles that regulate the collection, processing, and transfer of personal data. Its provisions, such as the right to be forgotten, consent requirements, and data subject rights, have brought about significant changes in the digital landscape. Indeed, the complexity and scope of the GDPR pose challenges for government agencies, law firms, legal professionals, and citizens seeking to navigate its intricacies and access relevant regulations.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
BibTeX Entry and Citation Info
@inproceedings{SimeriGDPRLirai2023,
author = {Andrea Simeri and
Andrea Tagarelli},
title = {{GDPR Article Retrieval based on Domain-adaptive and Task-adaptive Legal Pre-trained Language Models}},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 1st Legal Information Retrieval meets Artificial Intelligence Workshop LIRAI 2023 co-located with the 34th ACM Hypertext Conference HT 2023},
series = {{CEUR} Workshop Proceedings},
volume = {3594},
pages = {63-76},
year = {2023},
url = {https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3594/paper5.pdf}
}
References
- Simeri, A. and Tagarelli, A. (2023b). GDPR Article Retrieval based on Domain- adaptive and Task-adaptive Legal Pre-trained Language Models. In Proceedings of the 1st Legal Information Retrieval meets Artificial Intelligence Workshop LIRAI 2023 co-located with the 34th ACM Hypertext Conference HT 2023, volume 3594 of CEUR Workshop Proceedings, pages 63–76.