What Is the Right to Be Informed in Gdpr?

The right to be informed under Articles 13 and 14 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) mandates that data subjects must receive clear and comprehensive information regarding the collection and processing of their personal data. This right operationalizes the principle of transparency, which is fundamental within the GDPR framework (Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Articles 13 & 14).

Organisations are legally required to provide information that is:

• Concise, transparent, intelligible, and easily accessible
• Provided at the time of data collection or within a reasonable time if data is obtained from a third party

Specifically, the provided information must cover the following elements:

• Purposes for processing personal data
• Categories of personal data being collected
• Recipients or categories of recipients, including any international transfers
• Retention periods or criteria used to determine retention
• Rights available to data subjects regarding their data
• The right to withdraw consent at any time

This framework ensures that individuals are fully aware of how their data is handled, fostering informed decision-making and control over personal information. The delivery methods often include privacy policies, cookie banners, and privacy notices prominently displayed during data collection.

The literature emphasizes transparency as a cornerstone for trust in digital services (Voigt & Von dem Bussche, 2017). Failure to comply with these requirements can lead to regulatory sanctions and undermine user confidence (Kamarinou et al., 2017).

Key points summarized:

• Transparency under GDPR necessitates detailed disclosure at or before data collection (Articles 13 & 14).
• Organisations must communicate clearly about data categories, processing purposes, recipients, retention, and rights.
• Information should be accessible and understandable to ordinary users.
• Methods include privacy policies and cookie notices.
• Compliance supports user autonomy and regulatory adherence.

References:
Voigt, P., & Von dem Bussche, A. (2017). The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Springer International Publishing. Link
Kamarinou, D., Millard, C., & Singh, J. (2017). Machine learning with personal data: Is data protection law smart enough to meet the challenge? International Data Privacy Law, 7(1), 1–14. DOI