1. Lawfulness, fairness, and transparency: Personal data must be processed lawfully, fairly, and in a transparent manner. This means that individuals should be informed about how their data is being used and should have the right to access and correct their information.
2. Purpose limitation: Personal data should be collected for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes, and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes. This ensures that data is used only for the intended purpose and not for unrelated or unauthorized activities.
3. Data minimization: Only the personal data that is necessary for the intended purpose should be collected and processed. This principle aims to reduce the amount of data that is processed and stored, minimizing the risk of data breaches and misuse.
4. Accuracy: Personal data should be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. This involves ensuring that data is complete and correct, and that any inaccuracies are promptly rectified.
5. Storage limitation: Personal data should be kept in a form that permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data is processed. This principle emphasizes the importance of data retention policies and the need to dispose of data securely when it is no longer needed.
6. Integrity and confidentiality: Personal data should be processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorized or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction, or damage.
7. Accountability: Data controllers and processors should be accountable for complying with the principles of data protection. This involves implementing appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure the protection of personal data and demonstrating compliance with data protection laws and regulations.
These objectives are essential for building trust between individuals and organizations, and for ensuring that personal data is handled responsibly and ethically. They are the foundation of data protection laws and regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union, and are designed to protect individuals' rights and freedoms in the digital age.