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§ 46 Definitions

For the purposes of this Act

  1. ‘personal data’ means 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 person;
  2. ‘processing’ means 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, organization, structuring, storage, adaptation, alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment, combination, restriction, erasure or destruction;
  3. ‘restriction of processing’ means the marking of stored personal data with the aim of limiting their processing in the future;
  4. ‘profiling’ means any form of automated processing of personal data involving 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;
  5. ‘pseudonymization’ means the processing of personal data in such a manner that the data can no longer be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, provided that such additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organizational measures to ensure that the personal data cannot be attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person;
  6. ‘filing system’ means any structured set of personal data which are accessible according to specific criteria, whether centralized, decentralized or dispersed on a functional or geographical basis;
  7. ‘controller’ means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or any other body which alone or jointly with others determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data;
  8. ‘processor’ means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller;
  9. ‘recipient’ means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body to which the personal data are disclosed, whether a third party or not. However, public authorities which may receive personal data in the framework of a particular inquiry in accordance with Union or other law shall not be regarded as recipients; the processing of those data by those public authorities shall be in compliance with the applicable data protection rules according to the purposes of the processing;
  10. ‘personal data breach’ means a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure of, or access to, personal data processed;
  11. ‘genetic data’ means 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;
  12. ‘biometric data’ means 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, in particular facial images or dactyloscopic data;
  13. ‘data concerning health’ means personal data related to the physical or mental health of a natural person, including the provision of health care services, which reveal information about his or her health status;
  14. ‘special categories of personal data’
    1. data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership;
    2. genetic data;
    3. biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person;
    4. data concerning health; and
    5. data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation;
  15. ‘supervisory authority’ means an independent public authority which is established by a Member State pursuant to Article 41 of Directive (EU) 2016/680;
  16. ‘international organization’ means an organization and its subordinate bodies governed by public international law, or any other body which is set up by, or on the basis of, an agreement between two or more countries;
  17. ‘consent’ means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes in a particular case 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.

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