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GDPR - Glossary of terms and definitions

The GDPR replaces the previous data protection law and includes a number of revised definitions as well as introducing new concepts and terminology.

Binding Corporate Rules: a set of binding rules put in place to allow multinational companies and organisations to transfer personal data that they control from the EU to their affiliates outside the EU (but within the organisation).

Biometric data: personal data resulting from specific technical processing relating to the physical, physiological or behavioural characteristics of a natural person, which allow or confirm the unique identification of that natural person, such as facial images or dactyloscopic data. 

Consent: any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject's wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her. 

Data controller: is 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; where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by the Union or Member State law, the controller or the specific criteria for its nomination may be provided for by Union or Member State law. 

Data processor: a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller. 

Data subject: a natural person whose personal data is processed by a data controller or processor.  

Genetic data: personal data relating to the inherited or acquired genetic characteristics of a natural person which give unique information about the physiology or the health of that natural person and which result, in particular, from an analysis of a biological sample from the natural person in question. 

Personal data: any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person ('data subject'); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person. 

Personal data breach: a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed. 

Privacy impact assessment: a process designed to help organisations identify and mitigate privacy risks associated with proposed data processing activities. For further information, see the University's Privacy Impact Assessment guidance. 

Principles: the fundamental principles imbedded within the GDPR which set out the main responsibilities for organisations.

Processing: any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction. 

Profiling: any form of automated processing of personal data consisting of the use of personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyse or predict aspects concerning that natural person's performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behaviour, location or movements. 

Pseudonymisation: the processing of personal data in such a manner that the personal data can no longer be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, as long as such additional information is kept separately and technical and organisational measures to ensure that the personal data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person. 

Restriction on processing: the marking of stored personal data with the aim of limiting their processing in the future. 

Right of access: entitles the data subjects to have access to have access to and information about the personal data being processed by the data controller.

Special categories of personal data: personal data revealing a data subjects racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs or trade union membership or the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purposes of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation.