Article 4

Data quality 1. Personal data must be: processed fairly and lawfully; collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a way incompatible with those purposes. Further processing of personal data for historical, statistical or scientific purposes shall not be considered incompatible provided that the controller provides appropriate safeguards, in particular to ensure that the data are not processed for any other purposes or used in support of measures or decisions regarding any particular individual; adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purposes for which they are collected and/or further processed; accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that data which are inaccurate or incomplete, having regard to the purposes for which they were collected or for which they are further processed, are erased or rectified; kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the data were collected or for which they are further processed. The Community institution or body shall lay down that personal data which are to be stored for longer periods for historical, statistical or scientific use should be kept either in anonymous form only or, if that is not possible, only with the identity of the data subjects encrypted. In any event, the data shall not be used for any purpose other than for historical, statistical or scientific purposes. 2. It shall be for the controller to ensure that paragraph 1 is complied with. SECTION 2 CRITERIA FOR MAKING DATA PROCESSING LEGITIMATE

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-27 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.