Area · Economic rights
Right to compensation
It is the right to financial compensation for anyone who suffers material or non-material damage as a result of the unlawful processing of their personal data.
What Art. 82 GDPR provides
- Who can claim it: anyone who has suffered material or non-material damage as a result of an infringement of the GDPR.
- From whom: the data controller or the processor.
- The controller is liable for the damage caused by processing that infringes the GDPR; the processor is liable where it has not complied with the obligations of the Regulation specifically directed to processors or has acted outside or contrary to the controller’s instructions.
- Exemption: the controller or processor is not liable if it proves that it is not in any way responsible for the event giving rise to the damage.
- Joint liability: where several controllers or processors are involved in the same processing, each is liable for the entire damage, to ensure effective compensation of the data subject.
How it connects with other rights
Compensation works alongside the other remedies: for example, in the case of unlawful processing you can also request the restriction of processing, keeping the data as evidence for a possible compensation claim.
The information on this page is for general guidance and is not a substitute for legal advice.