Launch of coordinated enforcement action on the right of access

The Data Protection Commission (DPC) is pleased to announce its participation in the European Data Protection Board’s 2024 Coordinated Enforcement Framework (CEF). 31 Supervisory Authorities (SAs) across the European Economic Area will take part in the CEF throughout 2024, which is focussing on the “right of access” in accordance with Article 15 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The right of access is at the heart of data protection and is one of the most frequently exercised data protection rights. In particular, it enables individuals to check whether organisations process their personal data in a compliant manner. In addition, it often enables the exercise of other data protection rights, such as the right to rectification and right of erasure.

The DPC will take part in this action by sending questionnaires to 30 data controllers across the public and private sectors to aid a fact-finding exercise. The results will be aggregated and analysed in a coordinated manner, leading to a European-wide report generating deeper insight into how organisations apply the EDPB Guidelines 01/2022 on data subject rights. 

This action is the third initiative under the Coordinated Enforcement Framework (CEF), whose objectives include cooperation between data protection authorities, which aligns with the DPC Regulatory Strategy 2022-27 to cooperate and communicate with peer data protection authorities on merging issues. The DPC contributed to the 2023 CEF action on the designation and position of Data Protection Officers. A report on the findings of this CEF initiative was published on 17 January 2024.

Further information:

EDPB Press Release statement 28 February 2024 

EDPB Guidelines 01/2022 on data subjects' rights