Art. 28 GDPR · Chapter IV: Controller and processor · Section 1: General obligations
Article 28 GDPR: Processor
Text as of 28 October 2026 Reviewed by Sergio Maldonado Elvira on 29 October 2026
Summary (not the official text)
A controller may use only processors providing sufficient guarantees, and processing by a processor must be governed by a contract or other legal act with the content listed in paragraph 3. A processor may not engage another processor without the controller's prior written authorisation.
Official text
Where processing is to be carried out on behalf of a controller, the controller shall use only processors providing sufficient guarantees to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures in such a manner that processing will meet the requirements of this Regulation and ensure the protection of the rights of the data subject.
The processor shall not engage another processor without prior specific or general written authorisation of the controller. In the case of general written authorisation, the processor shall inform the controller of any intended changes concerning the addition or replacement of other processors, thereby giving the controller the opportunity to object to such changes.
Processing by a processor shall be governed by a contract or other legal act under Union or Member State law, that is binding on the processor with regard to the controller and that sets out the subject-matter and duration of the processing, the nature and purpose of the processing, the type of personal data and categories of data subjects and the obligations and rights of the controller. That contract or other legal act shall stipulate, in particular, that the processor:
processes the personal data only on documented instructions from the controller, including with regard to transfers of personal data to a third country or an international organisation, unless required to do so by Union or Member State law to which the processor is subject; in such a case, the processor shall inform the controller of that legal requirement before processing, unless that law prohibits such information on important grounds of public interest;
ensures that persons authorised to process the personal data have committed themselves to confidentiality or are under an appropriate statutory obligation of confidentiality;
takes all measures required pursuant to Article 32;
respects the conditions referred to in paragraphs 2 and 4 for engaging another processor;
taking into account the nature of the processing, assists the controller by appropriate technical and organisational measures, insofar as this is possible, for the fulfilment of the controller's obligation to respond to requests for exercising the data subject's rights laid down in Chapter III;
assists the controller in ensuring compliance with the obligations pursuant to Articles 32 to 36 taking into account the nature of processing and the information available to the processor;
at the choice of the controller, deletes or returns all the personal data to the controller after the end of the provision of services relating to processing, and deletes existing copies unless Union or Member State law requires storage of the personal data;
makes available to the controller all information necessary to demonstrate compliance with the obligations laid down in this Article and allow for and contribute to audits, including inspections, conducted by the controller or another auditor mandated by the controller.
With regard to point (h) of the first subparagraph, the processor shall immediately inform the controller if, in its opinion, an instruction infringes this Regulation or other Union or Member State data protection provisions.
Where a processor engages another processor for carrying out specific processing activities on behalf of the controller, the same data protection obligations as set out in the contract or other legal act between the controller and the processor as referred to in paragraph 3 shall be imposed on that other processor by way of a contract or other legal act under Union or Member State law, in particular providing sufficient guarantees to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures in such a manner that the processing will meet the requirements of this Regulation. Where that other processor fails to fulfil its data protection obligations, the initial processor shall remain fully liable to the controller for the performance of that other processor's obligations.
Adherence of a processor to an approved code of conduct as referred to in Article 40 or an approved certification mechanism as referred to in Article 42 may be used as an element by which to demonstrate sufficient guarantees as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 4 of this Article.
Without prejudice to an individual contract between the controller and the processor, the contract or the other legal act referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article may be based, in whole or in part, on standard contractual clauses referred to in paragraphs 7 and 8 of this Article, including when they are part of a certification granted to the controller or processor pursuant to Articles 42 and 43.
The Commission may lay down standard contractual clauses for the matters referred to in paragraph 3 and 4 of this Article and in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 93(2).
A supervisory authority may adopt standard contractual clauses for the matters referred to in paragraph 3 and 4 of this Article and in accordance with the consistency mechanism referred to in Article 63.
The contract or the other legal act referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be in writing, including in electronic form.
Without prejudice to Articles 82, 83 and 84, if a processor infringes this Regulation by determining the purposes and means of processing, the processor shall be considered to be a controller in respect of that processing.
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
Text as of 28 October 2026.
This is reference material, not legal advice.
Related recitals
This list is under review.
Related
EDPB guidance
- Opinion 22/2024 on certain obligations following from the reliance on processor(s) and sub-processor(s)
EDPB Opinion 22/2024FinalFirst published 9 October 2024Final version 9 October 2024
Art. 64(2) opinion; date is EDPB publication date.
- Guidelines 07/2020 on the concepts of controller and processor in the GDPR
EDPB 07/2020FinalFirst published 7 September 2020Final version 7 July 2021
Fines
Amounts are shown in the currency in which the fine was imposed.
- IQVIA Solutions Italy S.r.l: EUR 7,000,000
Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, ItalyDecision of 23 September 2026Appeal status: unknown
Health-analytics firm treated a database of about one million GP patients as anonymous when a persistent identifier made them re-identifiable; no legal basis, no information, no DPIA, weak retention and security.
- McDonald’s Polska Sp. z o.o.: PLN 16,932,657
Prezes Urzędu Ochrony Danych Osobowych (Polish Data Protection Authority), PolandAnnounced on 21 July 2025Appeal status: unknown
Outsourced staff scheduling without risk analysis or supervision of the processor, so employee data (names, PESEL or passport numbers, shifts) ended up in a public directory.
Not fully confirmed: Decision date not shown on the page (announcement date used). Three fines: PLN 1,632,063 + 13,600,528 + 1,700,066. The processor was fined PLN 183,858 in total. Articles taken from the narrative; the page does not give a single list of infringed articles.
- Vodafone GmbH: EUR 45,000,000
Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI), GermanyDecision of 10 March 2025Appeal status: unknown
Two fines: EUR 15 million for poor supervision and auditing of partner shops acting as processors (staff misused customer data for fraud) and EUR 30 million for weak authentication in the online portal and hotline that allowed eSIM misuse.
- Foodinho s.r.l.: EUR 5,000,000
Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, ItalyDecision of 13 November 2024Appeal status: unknown
Glovo-group delivery platform geolocated over 35,000 riders even off shift, used facial recognition for identity checks, made automated decisions (including deactivations) without safeguards, and let other group companies see rider data.
- Enel Energia S.p.A.: EUR 79,107,101
Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, ItalyDecision of 8 February 2024Appeal status: upheld
Telemarketing: weak control of sales-agent access let unauthorised agencies place contracts obtained through unlawful calls into the company's systems; failures of security, accountability, privacy by design and processor contracts.
- VODAFONE ESPAÑA, S.A.U.: EUR 6,000,000
Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD), SpainDecision of 11 February 2021Appeal status: unknown
Telecom operator failed to control the marketing firms calling and texting on its behalf, including processors outside the EU, so people who had objected kept receiving marketing.
- TIM S.p.A.: EUR 27,802,946
Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, ItalyDecision of 15 January 2020Appeal status: unknown
Aggressive telemarketing: calls to people who had refused or were on internal block lists, marketing without valid consent, and weak control of call-centre partners.
Not fully confirmed: Amount, date and name read in the decision (register no. 7 of 15 January 2020). Articles listed are those the decision states for its main finding (section 3.1, which also cites Article 130 of the Italian Code); later sections discuss further provisions (e.g. Articles 12 and 21), so the list may be incomplete.