---
title: "Recital 3 GDPR"
canonical: "https://dposchool.com/gdpr/recital/3"
source: "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32016R0679#rct_3"
source_note: "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: "2026-10-28"
last_reviewed: "2026-10-29"
language: "en"
publisher: "DPO School"
---

Recitals

# Recital 3

Text as of 28 October 2026 · [Reviewed by Sergio Maldonado Elvira on 29 October 2026](https://dposchool.com/gdpr/about#review)

## Official text

Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) seeks to harmonise the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons in respect of processing activities and to ensure the free flow of personal data between Member States.

## Notes in the Official Journal text

- (4) Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31).

## Source

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

[Recital 3 on EUR-Lex](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32016R0679#rct_3)

Text as of 28 October 2026.

This is reference material, not legal advice.

## Related articles

This list is under review.

- [Article 1: Subject-matter and objectives](https://dposchool.com/gdpr/article/1)

## Navigation

[GDPR Navigator](https://dposchool.com/gdpr) / [Recitals](https://dposchool.com/gdpr/recitals) / Recital 3

Previous: [Recital 2 GDPR](https://dposchool.com/gdpr/recital/2)

Next: [Recital 4 GDPR](https://dposchool.com/gdpr/recital/4)

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