Personal data

At a glance

• The UK GDPR only applies to “personal data” so it is important to know what information you hold and whether it can be classed as personal data.

• Article 4(1) defines personal data as information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual. This is more than identifying individuals. It must concern them in some way.

• It is important to note that opinions and inferences are also personal data, maybe special category data, if they directly or indirectly relate to that individual.

In more detail

• Introduction
• What is personal data?
• What is the meaning of “relates to”?
• Can opinions or inferences about people be personal data?

Introduction

It is important to be clear what personal data you hold and whether the UK GDPR applies to this data. 

The UK GDPR applies to the processing of personal data that is: 

• wholly or partly by automated means; or

• the processing, other than by automated means, of personal data which forms part of, or is intended to form part of, a filing system.

In other words, it applies to personal data processed, or partly processed, by computer as well as any personal data that is placed, or you intend to place, in a manual filing system. In practice, most personal data that you process will be caught by this definition.

What is personal data?

The UK GDPR Article 4(1) defines personal data as:

“any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person”

In other words, if you can identify a particular individual from the information, or when put together with other information you hold, then this is personal data.

In most cases it is straightforward to establish whether you can identify an individual. The UK GDPR provides a non-exhaustive list of identifiers, including: 

• name;
• identification number;
• location data; and
• online identifier (including IP addresses and cookie identifiers).

However, there are many other possible identifiers. In the context of political campaigning, examples include but are not limited to:

• names and addresses;
• electoral registration numbers on both the electoral register and the marked electoral register;
• membership names and numbers.                      

Where linked to identifiers the following are also likely to constitute personal data:

• subscription and financial details;

• dates of birth and ages (both inferred or known);

• attributes, opinions and characteristics (both inferred or known);

• propensity to vote scores; and

• communication preferences, eg by email, text, post or phone.

What is the meaning of “relates to”?

Information must “relate to” the identifiable individual to be personal data.

This means that it does more than simply identifying them – it must concern the individual in some way.

To decide whether or not data relates to an individual, you may need to consider the: 

• content of the data (is it directly about the individual or their activities?);
• purpose you are processing the data for; and
• results of, or effects on, the individual from processing the data.

There are circumstances where it may be difficult to determine whether data relates to an individual. If this is the case, you should treat the information with care, ensure that you have a clear reason for processing the data and, in particular, ensure you hold and dispose of it securely.

Can opinions or inferences about people be personal data?

The definition of personal data is not restricted to factual information about an individual. Opinions and inferences are also personal data if the individual can be identified from that data, either directly or indirectly, and the information relates to that individual.

For example, if you are attaching inferences or opinions to individuals’ names or addresses then this information is very likely to be considered personal data, regardless of how certain you are that these inferences or opinions are correct.