# Principles relating to processing of personal data — GDPR — context bundle

> Focused context for a single provision, curated from overview.legal on 2026-08-22. Canonical page: https://overview.legal/laws/gdpr/art-5
> Every item cites its source. Verify against the official text (EUR-Lex / wetten.overheid.nl) before relying on it.

## Provision

### Principles relating to processing of personal data — Principles relating to processing of personal data

*GDPR, gdpr-art-5-en — https://overview.legal/laws/gdpr/art-5*

1. Personal data shall be:
   a) processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject (‘lawfulness, fairness and transparency’);
   b) collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes; further processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes shall, in accordance with Article 89(1), not be considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes (‘purpose limitation’);
   c) adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed (‘data minimisation’);
   d) accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that personal data that are inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased or rectified without delay (‘accuracy’);
   e) kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed; personal data may be stored for longer periods insofar as the personal data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) subject to implementation of the appropriate technical and organisational measures required by this Regulation in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the data subject (‘storage limitation’);
   f) processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures (‘integrity and confidentiality’).

2. The controller shall be responsible for, and be able to demonstrate compliance with, paragraph 1 (‘accountability’).

## Related recitals

### Recital 170 — subsidiarity and proportionality principles justification

Since the objective of this Regulation, namely to ensure an equivalent level of protection of natural persons and the free flow of personal data throughout the Union, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can rather, by reason of the scale or effects of the action, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

## Enforcement

1784 decision(s) on record cite Article 5, totalling approximately €1,962,482,207 in fines (median €10,000).

Top fines:
- **Meta Platforms, Inc.: Non-compliance with general data processing principles** (IRELAND, €405,000,000) — https://overview.legal/posts/47488
- **TikTok Limited: Non-compliance with general data processing principles** (IRELAND, €345,000,000) — https://overview.legal/posts/48147
- **WhatsApp Ireland Ltd.: Insufficient fulfilment of information obligations** (IRELAND, €225,000,000) — https://overview.legal/posts/46935
- **Ridetech International B.V.: Insufficient legal basis for data processing** (The Netherlands, €100,000,000) — https://overview.legal/posts/53622
- **CNIL (France) - SAN-2023-012** (France, €90,000,000) — https://overview.legal/posts/125588

## Guidance

### Guidelines on processing of personal data through blockchain technologies

*EDPB — https://overview.legal/posts/125668*

Guidelines 02/2025 on processing of personal data through blockchain technologies Version 2.0 Adopted on 07 July 2026 1 | Adopted Version history Version Date Adoption information version 1.1 08 April 2025 adoption of the guidelines before public consultation version 2.0 07 July 2026 adoption of the guidelines after public consultation 3 | Adopted 4 | Adopted The European Data Protection Board Having regard to Article 70 (1)(e) of the Regulation 2016/679/EU of the European Parliament and of the…

### Template for Cross-Regulatory Cooperation Agreements

*EDPB — https://overview.legal/posts/125669*

1 | Adopted Template for Cross-Regulatory Cooperation Agreements Adopted by the EDPB on July 7 th 2026 2 | Adopted Explanatory note Cross-regulatory cooperation between data protection supervisory authorities (DPAs) and other national and EU competent authorities has become increasingly important as legal and practical challenges emerge at the intersection of different regulatory fields. Cooperation agreements can be an important basis to organise and strengthen cooperation and dialogue between…

### Opinion 21/2026 on the draft decision of the Irish Supervisory Authority regarding the Controller Binding Corporate Rules of the Flutter Group

*EDPB — https://overview.legal/posts/125670*

Opinion 21/2026 on the draft decision of the Irish Supervisory Authority regarding the Controller Binding Corporate Rules of the Flutter Group Adopted on 07 July 2026 1 | Adopted 2 | Adopted The European Data Protection Board Having regard to Article 63, Article 64(1)(f) and Article 47 of the 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…

### Opinion 20/2026 on the draft decision of the Dutch Supervisory Authority regarding the Controller Binding Corporate Rules of the Fluor Group

*EDPB — https://overview.legal/posts/125671*

Opinion 20/2026 on the draft decision of the Dutch Supervisory Authority regarding the Controller Binding Corporate Rules of the Fluor Group Adopted on 07 July 2026 1 | Adopted 2 | Adopted The European Data Protection Board Having regard to Article 63, Article 64(1)(f) and Article 47 of the 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…

### Opinion 19/2026 on the draft decision of the Dutch Supervisory Authority regarding the Processor Binding Corporate Rules of the Rubrik Group

*EDPB — https://overview.legal/posts/125672*

Opinion 19/2026 on the draft decision of the Dutch Supervisory Authority regarding the Processor Binding Corporate Rules of the Rubrik Group Adopted on 08 June 2026 1 | Adopted 2 | Adopted The European Data Protection Board Having regard to Article 63, Article 64(1)(f) and Article 47 of the 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…

## Related topics

- **Personal Data** — https://overview.legal/topics/persoonsgegevens
  ## Legal Framework
- **Processing** — https://overview.legal/topics/verwerking
  ## Legal Framework

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Generated by overview.legal · https://overview.legal/laws/gdpr/art-5 · 2026-08-22
