Lisa, I would recommend adding this document to our list as it is directly relevant to other documents we are discussing. Summary below and attached. Many tx! Kathy

Document Name: European Commission Website: Data Controllers Defined

Document Link: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/data-collection/index_en.htm

Summary:

The European Commission website provides information to define what is a Data Contoller. Data controllers are the persons or entities “which collect and process personal data.”

Data controllers are also the persons or entities who “determine ‘the purposes and the means of the processing of personal data.’” This applies to both public and private sectors.

According to the European Commission:

Data controllers must respect the privacy and data protection rights of those whose personal data is entrusted to them. They must:

collect and process personal data only when this is legally permitted;
respect certain obligations regarding the processing of personal data;

respond to complaints regarding breaches of data protection rules;
collaborate with national data protection supervisory authorities.

Additional information:

Obligations of data controllers are discussed on the European Commission website, http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/data-collection/obligations/index_en.htm, and as a separate document on our privacy list.