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Art. 14 GDPR · Chapter III: Rights of the data subject · Section 2: Information and access to personal data

Article 14 GDPR: Information to be provided where personal data have not been obtained from the data subject

Text as of 28 October 2026 Reviewed by Sergio Maldonado Elvira on 29 October 2026

Summary (not the official text)

When personal data have not been obtained from the data subject, the controller must provide the information listed in the article, including the categories of data and their source, within the time limits set in paragraph 3. Paragraph 5 lists the exceptions, such as where the data subject already has the information or providing it proves impossible or would involve a disproportionate effort.

Official text

Where personal data have not been obtained from the data subject, the controller shall provide the data subject with the following information:

the identity and the contact details of the controller and, where applicable, of the controller's representative;

the contact details of the data protection officer, where applicable;

the purposes of the processing for which the personal data are intended as well as the legal basis for the processing;

the categories of personal data concerned;

the recipients or categories of recipients of the personal data, if any;

where applicable, that the controller intends to transfer personal data to a recipient in a third country or international organisation and the existence or absence of an adequacy decision by the Commission, or in the case of transfers referred to in Article 46 or 47, or the second subparagraph of Article 49(1), reference to the appropriate or suitable safeguards and the means to obtain a copy of them or where they have been made available.

In addition to the information referred to in paragraph 1, the controller shall provide the data subject with the following information necessary to ensure fair and transparent processing in respect of the data subject:

the period for which the personal data will be stored, or if that is not possible, the criteria used to determine that period;

where the processing is based on point (f) of Article 6(1), the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party;

the existence of the right to request from the controller access to and rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing concerning the data subject and to object to processing as well as the right to data portability;

where processing is based on point (a) of Article 6(1) or point (a) of Article 9(2), the existence of the right to withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal;

the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority;

from which source the personal data originate, and if applicable, whether it came from publicly accessible sources;

the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, referred to in Article 22(1) and (4) and, at least in those cases, meaningful information about the logic involved, as well as the significance and the envisaged consequences of such processing for the data subject.

The controller shall provide the information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2:

within a reasonable period after obtaining the personal data, but at the latest within one month, having regard to the specific circumstances in which the personal data are processed;

if the personal data are to be used for communication with the data subject, at the latest at the time of the first communication to that data subject; or

if a disclosure to another recipient is envisaged, at the latest when the personal data are first disclosed.

Where the controller intends to further process the personal data for a purpose other than that for which the personal data were obtained, the controller shall provide the data subject prior to that further processing with information on that other purpose and with any relevant further information as referred to in paragraph 2.

Paragraphs 1 to 4 shall not apply where and insofar as:

the data subject already has the information;

the provision of such information proves impossible or would involve a disproportionate effort, in particular for processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes, subject to the conditions and safeguards referred to in Article 89(1) or in so far as the obligation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article is likely to render impossible or seriously impair the achievement of the objectives of that processing. In such cases the controller shall take appropriate measures to protect the data subject's rights and freedoms and legitimate interests, including making the information publicly available;

obtaining or disclosure is expressly laid down by Union or Member State law to which the controller is subject and which provides appropriate measures to protect the data subject's legitimate interests; or

where the personal data must remain confidential subject to an obligation of professional secrecy regulated by Union or Member State law, including a statutory obligation of secrecy.

Source: Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Official Journal L 119, 4.5.2016, as corrected. Only the text published in the Official Journal is authentic. © European Union, https://eur-lex.europa.eu

Article 14 on EUR-Lex

Text as of 28 October 2026.

This is reference material, not legal advice.

This list is under review.

Court of Justice judgments

Related (earlier law or other instruments)

  • C-413/23 P, European Data Protection Supervisor v Single Resolution Board

    Judgment of 4 September 2025ECLI:EU:C:2025:645

    Instrument: Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 (EU institutions; definitions mirror the GDPR)

    On appeal, the Court held that pseudonymised data are not necessarily personal data for every recipient, but that the controller's duty to inform people about recipients is judged from the controller's own position at the time of collection; it set aside the General Court's judgment and sent part of the case back.

    CURIAEUR-Lex

EDPB guidance

Fines

Amounts are shown in the currency in which the fine was imposed.

  • Experian Nederland B.V.: EUR 2,700,000

    Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (Dutch Data Protection Authority), NetherlandsDecision of 16 October 2025Appeal status: not appealed

    Credit-scoring business used personal data from many sources without a valid legal basis and did not inform the people concerned.

    Source: the authority

  • LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company: EUR 310,000,000

    Data Protection Commission (Ireland), IrelandDecision of 22 October 2024Appeal status: under appeal

    Processed members' data for behavioural analysis and targeted advertising without a valid legal basis, and without fair and clear information.

    Source: the authority

  • Clearview AI Inc.: EUR 30,500,000

    Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (Dutch Data Protection Authority), NetherlandsDecision of 16 May 2024Appeal status: not appealed

    Built a facial recognition database of billions of photos, including of people in the Netherlands, without a legal basis, and did not inform people or answer access requests.

    Source: the authority

  • Clearview AI, Inc: EUR 20,000,000

    Hellenic Data Protection Authority, GreeceDecision of 13 July 2022Appeal status: unknown

    Facial recognition company processed people's images in Greece unlawfully, without transparency, ignored an access request and had no EU representative.

    Source: the authority

  • Clearview AI: EUR 20,000,000

    Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, ItalyDecision of 10 February 2022Appeal status: unknown

    Facial-recognition firm scraped billions of facial images, including of people in Italy, with no legal basis, without transparency, and without an EU representative; ordered to delete Italian data and stop collecting it.

    Source: the authority

  • IAB Europe: EUR 250,000

    Autorité de protection des données / Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit (Belgium), BelgiumDecision of 2 February 2022Appeal status: upheld

    The ad-industry Transparency and Consent Framework processed users' preference strings without a legal basis, with vague information, weak safeguards, no records, no DPIA and no DPO.

    Source: the authority

  • CAIXABANK, S.A.: EUR 6,000,000

    Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD), SpainDecision of 7 January 2021Appeal status: unknown

    Bank relied on invalid consent and its privacy information was unclear when it profiled customers and shared data across its group for commercial purposes.

    Not fully confirmed: Operative part of resolution PS/00477/2019 read: EUR 2,000,000 for Articles 13 and 14 and EUR 4,000,000 for Article 6; a charge under Article 22 was dismissed. The resolution text carries no visible date; 7 January 2021 comes from a later AEPD document.

    Source: the authority