GDPR Article 14: information to be provided where personal data have not been obtained from the data subject

Article 13 covers the easy case, where you asked someone for their data and they gave it to you. Article 14 covers everything else, and it is stricter, because the person has no idea you hold anything at all.

Article 14(1): the core information

Where personal data have not been obtained from the data subject, the controller shall provide the data subject with the following information:

(a) the identity and the contact details of the controller and, where applicable, of the controller's representative;

(b) the contact details of the data protection officer, where applicable;

(c) the purposes of the processing for which the personal data are intended as well as the legal basis for the processing;

(d) the categories of personal data concerned;

(e) the recipients or categories of recipients of the personal data, if any;

(f) where applicable, that the controller intends to transfer personal data to a recipient in a third country or international organisation and the existence or absence of an adequacy decision by the Commission, or in the case of transfers referred to in Article 46 or 47, or the second subparagraph of Article 49(1), reference to the appropriate or suitable safeguards and the means to obtain a copy of them or where they have been made available.

Point (d) is the first thing Article 13 does not ask for. When someone hands you their own data they can see what they handed over. When you bought it, they cannot, so you have to tell them what categories you hold.

Article 14(2): the fairness information

In addition to the information referred to in paragraph 1, the controller shall provide the following information necessary to ensure fair and transparent processing:

(a) the period for which the personal data will be stored, or if that is not possible, the criteria used to determine that period;

(b) where the processing is based on point (f) of Article 6(1), the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party;

(c) the existence of the right to request from the controller access to and rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing concerning the data subject and to object to processing as well as the right to data portability;

(d) where processing is based on point (a) of Article 6(1) or point (a) of Article 9(2), the existence of the right to withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal;

(e) the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority;

(f) from which source the personal data originate, and if applicable, whether it came from publicly accessible sources;

(g) the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, referred to in Article 22(1) and (4) and, at least in those cases, meaningful information about the logic involved, as well as the significance and the envisaged consequences of such processing for the data subject.

Point (f) is the other Article 14 addition, and it is the one that catches out businesses buying enriched contact data. You have to name the source. "A third-party data provider" is not the source; the provider is.

Article 14(3): when you have to say it

The controller shall provide the information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2:

(a) within a reasonable period after obtaining the personal data, but at the latest within one month, having regard to the specific circumstances in which the personal data are processed;

(b) if the personal data are to be used for communication with the data subject, at the latest at the time of the first communication to that data subject; or

(c) if a disclosure to another recipient is envisaged, at the latest when the personal data are first disclosed.

These are alternatives and whichever comes first governs. A business that buys a prospect list on Monday and emails it on Tuesday does not have a month. Its deadline is Tuesday.

Article 14(4): repurposing

Where the controller intends to further process the personal data for a purpose other than that for which the personal data were obtained, the controller shall provide the data subject prior to that further processing with information on that other purpose and with any relevant further information as referred to in paragraph 2.

Article 14(5): the four exemptions

Paragraphs 1 to 4 shall not apply where and insofar as:

(a) the data subject already has the information;

(b) the provision of such information proves impossible or would involve a disproportionate effort, in particular for processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes, subject to the conditions and safeguards referred to in Article 89(1) or in so far as the obligation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article is likely to render impossible or seriously impair the achievement of the objectives of that processing. In such cases the controller shall take appropriate measures to protect the data subject's rights and freedoms and legitimate interests, including making the information publicly available;

(c) obtaining or disclosure is expressly laid down by Union or Member State law to which the controller is subject and which provides appropriate measures to protect the data subject's legitimate interests; or

(d) where the personal data must remain confidential subject to an obligation of professional secrecy regulated by Union or Member State law, including a statutory obligation of secrecy.

Article 14(5)(b) is the one most often reached for and least often available. Note that it is not a general inconvenience exemption. It is anchored to archiving, research and statistical purposes, and even where it applies the controller still has to take appropriate measures, including making the information publicly available. The exemption removes the individual notice, not the transparency.

Compare Article 13(4), which has a single exemption, the data subject already has the information. The asymmetry is deliberate.

What this means in practice

If you do outbound sales, enrichment, lead generation or list purchasing anywhere that touches people in the EU, Article 14 is the provision that governs the moment the data lands, not the moment you use it. The information itself is the same body of text as your privacy notice with two additions, categories and source, so the work is usually delivery rather than drafting.

For the direct-collection counterpart see Article 13, and for the rules on how any of this must be communicated see Article 12.