Overview

This article allows supervisory authorities to adopt urgent provisional measures to protect data subjects’ rights, effective for up to three months, bypassing the standard consistency mechanism. Authorities must communicate these measures to other concerned authorities, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), and the European Commission, and may request urgent Board opinions or binding decisions within two weeks if further action is required.


Key Principles

  • Provisional Measures: Authorities can act urgently to prevent harm to data subjects.

  • Time-Bound Effectiveness: Measures are effective for up to three months.

  • Communication: Notify other authorities, the Board, and the Commission.

  • Expedited Oversight: Request urgent opinions or binding decisions from the Board within two weeks.

  • Rights Protection: Ensure immediate safeguarding of data subjects’ fundamental rights.

Organizational Applicability

This article applies to:

  • Supervisory authorities empowered to act under GDPR.

  • Controllers and processors affected by urgent provisional measures.

  • Teams responsible for regulatory compliance, incident response, and data subject protection.

Implementation Requirements

  • Establish procedures for identifying situations that require urgent provisional measures.

  • Implement measures promptly, ensuring effectiveness for up to three months.

  • Communicate actions and rationale to other authorities, the Board, and the Commission.

  • Request urgent Board opinions or binding decisions within the two-week timeframe if further action is necessary.

Implementation Guidance

  • Maintain a template for urgent measure notifications to authorities and the Board.

  • Train staff on identifying high-risk situations and executing urgency procedures.

  • Document all communications, measures taken, and requests for Board decisions.

  • Periodically review urgency procedures to ensure compliance and effectiveness.

Periodic Review

  • Frequency: Annually or after each urgency procedure is executed.

  • Responsible Role: Supervisory authority leadership, Compliance Team, or Legal.

  • Outcome: Ensure provisional measures are effectively implemented, communicated, and aligned with GDPR.

Non-Compliance Risks

  • Fines: Up to €20 million or 4% of global annual turnover for supervised entities.

  • Legal Exposure: Challenges to inadequate or improperly communicated urgent measures.

  • Reputational Damage: Loss of trust due to delayed or insufficient protection of data subjects.

  • Operational Risk: Failure to act urgently may result in harm to data subjects and regulatory scrutiny.