Article 59 GDPR

← Article 59 - Activity reports →
Chapter 1: General provisions Article 1: Subject-matter and objectives Article 2: Material scope Article 3: Territorial scope Article 4: Definitions Chapter 2: Principles Article 5: Principles relating to processing of personal data Article 6: Lawfulness of processing Article 7: Conditions for consent Article 8: Conditions applicable to child’s consent in relation to information society services Article 9: Processing of special categories of personal data Article 10: Processing of personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences Article 11: Processing which does not require identification Chapter 3: Rights of the data subject Article 12: Transparent information, communication and modalities for the exercise of the rights of the data subject Article 13: Information to be provided where personal data are collected from the data subject Article 14: Information to be provided where personal data have not been obtained from the data subject Article 15: Right of access by the data subject Article 16: Right to rectification Article 17: Right to erasure (‘right to be forgotten’) Article 18: Right to restriction of processing Article 19: Notification obligation regarding rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing Article 20: Right to data portability Article 21: Right to object Article 22: Automated individual decision-making, including profiling Article 23: Restrictions Chapter 4: Controller and processor Article 24: Responsibility of the controller Article 25: Data protection by design and by default Article 26: Joint controllers Article 27: Representatives of controllers or processors not established in the Union Article 28: Processor Article 29: Processing under the authority of the controller or processor Article 30: Records of processing activities Article 31: Cooperation with the supervisory authority Article 32: Security of processing Article 33: Notification of a personal data breach to the supervisory authority Article 34: Communication of a personal data breach to the data subject Article 35: Data protection impact assessment Article 36: Prior consultation Article 37: Designation of the data protection officer Article 38: Position of the data protection officer Article 39: Tasks of the data protection officer Article 40: Codes of conduct Article 41: Monitoring of approved codes of conduct Article 42: Certification Article 43: Certification bodies Chapter 5: Transfers of personal data Article 44: General principle for transfers Article 45: Transfers on the basis of an adequacy decision Article 46: Transfers subject to appropriate safeguards Article 47: Binding corporate rules Article 48: Transfers or disclosures not authorised by Union law Article 49: Derogations for specific situations Article 50: International cooperation for the protection of personal data Chapter 6: Supervisory authorities Article 51: Supervisory authority Article 52: Independence Article 53: General conditions for the members of the supervisory authority Article 54: Rules on the establishment of the supervisory authority Article 55: Competence Article 56: Competence of the lead supervisory authority Article 57: Tasks Article 58: Powers Article 59: Activity reports Chapter 7: Cooperation and consistency Article 60: Cooperation between the lead supervisory authority and the other supervisory authorities concerned Article 61: Mutual assistance Article 62: Joint operations of supervisory authorities Article 63: Consistency mechanism Article 64: Opinion of the Board Article 65: Dispute resolution by the Board Article 66: Urgency procedure Article 67: Exchange of information Article 68: European Data Protection Board Article 69: Independence Article 70: Tasks of the Board Article 71: Reports Article 72: Procedure Article 73: Chair Article 74: Tasks of the Chair Article 75: Secretariat Article 76: Confidentiality Chapter 8: Remedies, liability and penalties Article 77: Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority Article 78: Right to an effective judicial remedy against a supervisory authority Article 79: Right to an effective judicial remedy against a controller or processor Article 80: Representation of data subjects Article 81: Suspension of proceedings Article 82: Right to compensation and liability Article 83: General conditions for imposing administrative fines Article 84: Penalties Chapter 9: Specific processing situations Article 85: Processing and freedom of expression and information Article 86: Processing and public access to official documents Article 87: Processing of the national identification number Article 88: Processing in the context of employment Article 89: Safeguards and derogations relating to processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes Article 90: Obligations of secrecy Article 91: Existing data protection rules of churches and religious associations Chapter 10: Delegated and implementing acts Article 92: Exercise of the delegation Article 93: Committee procedure Chapter 11: Final provisions Article 94: Repeal of Directive 95: /46: /EC Article 95: Relationship with Directive 20: 02: /58: /EC Article 96: Relationship with previously concluded Agreements Article 97: Commission reports Article 98: Review of other Union legal acts on data protection Article 99: Entry into force and application

Legal Text

Article 59 - Activity reports

Each supervisory authority shall draw up an annual report on its activities, which may include a list of types of infringement notified and types of measures taken in accordance with Article 58(2). Those reports shall be transmitted to the national parliament, the government and other authorities as designated by Member State law. They shall be made available to the public, to the Commission and to the Board.

Relevant Recitals

No recitals seem to be available for this provision.

Commentary

The main goal of the activity reports regulated by Article 59 GDPR consists of informing national and EU authorities as well as the larger public about the activities the supervisory authority (SA) has performed over the previous year. The obligation of SAs to submit an annual report thus primarily serves to ensure democratic control and transparency.

Case law: The CJEU in Commission v Germany, considered tha the obligation of independent SAs to regularly submit and publish a report on their activities, provided for in Article 28(5) of the Data Protection Directive, to be part of the accountability required by the principle of democracy as a counterpart to complete independence of SAs.

The activity report can also contribute to a harmonised and consistent implementation and enforcement of the GDPR across the EEA and to developing a common opinion among different SAs over new or contentious data protection issues. Additionally, the reports can be a good reference point for data protection officers. If a breach has occurred in processing by other controller, possibly even in the same sector, it may be a good idea to check the proccessing in one's own organisation in this regard as well. The activity reports usually also contain information on how a measure can be implemented in compliance with the law. Finally, the reports can also help to avoid unnecessary costs (in private detectives, video cameras, etc.), if the practice is considered illegal by the SA. Similarly, the reports help everyone to assert their rights as data subjects, as they often raise awareness of the situations in which data processing is (un)permissible.

Contents of the report

The wording does not impose the authority a tight constraint in terms of contents. In the black-letter of the law, the report ”may include a list of types of infringement notified and types of measures taken in accordance with Article 58(2) [GDPR]”. These is a reference to the information that SAs must keep in internal records according to Article 57(1)(u) GDPR. The report may include that information but if it does not, it is unlikely to be invalid. However, the report cannot end up resulting in a sterile formalistic exercise, carrying no substantive information. This would conflict with the accountability and transparency purpose enshrined by the provision itself and should therefore be avoided.

Adressees of the report

The report is to be transmitted to the national parliament, the government and other authorities as designated by member state law. In addition to transparency and accountability of SAs, the report is a source of information for legislators in the further development of data protection law.

Furthermore, the report must be made available to the public, the Commission and the EDPB ("the Board"). In this context, SAs must send the report to the Commission and the EDPB, wherea publication on a website will be sufficient to fulfil the obligation towards the public.  Making the report accessible to the EDPB will enable the other SAs to take note of it and thus enable a uniform interpretation and and enforcement of the GDPR.

Decisions

→ You can find all related decisions in Category:Article 59 GDPR