Bitkom Comments on EDPB Guidelines on Article 6(1)(b) GDPR

Recently the European Data Protection Board published its Draft Guidelines on the processing of personal data under Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR in the context of online services. We welcome the opportunity to comment on these Guidelines and believe that more cooperation and exchange between data protection authorities and practitioners is needed to translate the legal text of the GDPR into practice and reduce legal uncertainty. While we welcome the general guidance the EDPB sets out in its guidelines, we suggest broadening the scope of the Guidelines to include the processing of personal data under Article 6(1)(b) in the context of offline services as well. In our view, it is also necessary to clarify that multiple legal bases can apply at the same time. The Guidelines should also chose a more flexible interpretation of “necessity”. The Guidelines should include Guidance on the relationship between Article 6(1)(b) and Article 6(1)(f) as well as the legal bases for processing under the upcoming ePrivacy Regulation.

You can download or position paper with detailed comments here.