Data Protection Authority

Data protection authority  - A data protection authority is an independent body which is in charge of:

    * monitoring the processing of personal data within its jurisdiction (country, region or international organization);
    * providing advice to the competent bodies with regard to legislative and administrative measures relating to the processing of personal data;
    * hearing complaints lodged by citizens with regard to the protection of their data protection rights.

According to Article 28 of Directive 95/46/EC, each Member State shall establish in its territory at least one data protection authority, which shall be endowed with investigative powers (such as access to data, collection of information, etc.), effective powers of intervention (power to order the erasure of data, to impose a ban on a processing, etc.), and the power to start legal proceedings when data protection law has been violated.

National data protection authorities have been established in almost all European countries, as well as in many other countries worldwide.

[Category=Data Security ]

Source: European Data Protection Supervisor, 27 July 2011 08:58:20, http://www.edps.europa.eu/EDPSWEB/edps/cache/off/EDPS/Dataprotection/Glossary