Full legal title: Regulation (EU) 2016/679 - General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
What it is, what happened, who decided, what is being done, where to act. · updated 2026-10-17 · Ask about this act →
What it is
Subject-matter and objectives 1. This Regulation lays down rules relating to the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and rules relating to the free movement of personal data. 2. This Regulation protects fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons and in particular their right to the protection of personal data. 3. The free movement of personal data within the Union shall be neither restricted nor prohibited for reasons connected with the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data.
A proposal to amend this act has been tabled — as regards the extension of certain mitigating measures available for small and medium sized enterprises to small mid-cap enterprises and further simplification measures. Not yet law.
A proposal to amend this act has been tabled — as regards the simplification of the digital legislative framework, and repealing Regulations (EU) 2018/1807, (EU) 2019/1150, (EU) 2022/868, and Directive (EU) 2019/1024 (Digital Omnibus). Not yet law.
Every initiative implementing or amending this act goes out for public consultation; anyone may file, entries are published, and the Commission must summarise them.
Any EU resident may petition about the application of an EU act; the committee must examine it.
How to find your own MEP
This page shows who steered the act, not who represents you — that depends on your country. The European Parliament's own search lets you pick your member state.