How the “Legitimate Interests” Ground for Processing Enables Responsible Data Use and Innovation

Following the European Data Protection Board’s (EDPB) Stakeholder Workshop on Legitimate Interests on 27 November 2020, CIPL published this white paper as input for the EDPB’s future update of the guidelines on the legitimate interests legal basis.

This Paper is also relevant for any jurisdiction where data protection law includes legitimate interests as a legal basis for processing personal data, as well as for policy makers in countries looking to adopt a data protection regime.

This Paper explains the growing importance of the legitimate interests legal basis for organizations’ data processing activities and examines how it should be interpreted, used and applied to unlock the value of data in today’s global data-driven and connected world. The Paper also includes an Appendix which summarizes case studies on how organizations currently rely on the legitimate interests legal basis for both (i) routine data processing activities, and (ii) more complex, unique, or new data processing activities that are key for innovation and for the development of the EU digital economy).

There are still many challenges and legal uncertainties that prevent organizations from relying on legitimate interests as a legal basis for processing personal data. With the update of the Guidelines, the EDPB has an opportunity to clarify these issues, and make the legitimate interests basis a catalyst for accountable data practices that drive economic development and innovation in a privacy-preserving manner. One of the ways the EDPB can accomplish this is to acknowledge that organizations may rely on this legal basis for a wide variety of data processing activities, ranging from routine, operational data processing, to more complex and innovative data processing involving new technologies and business models. The EDPB should provide additional and non-exhaustive examples and use cases of such data processing activities of what the EDPB views as an appropriate legitimate interests assessment to help organizations of all sectors confidently rely upon this legal basis when appropriate.

Download the Paper

Download Now