GDPR Data Handling

Practical implementation guide for GDPR-compliant data processing, consent management, and privacy controls.

When to Use This Skill

Building systems that process EU personal data
Implementing consent management
Handling data subject requests (DSRs)
Conducting GDPR compliance reviews
Designing privacy-first architectures
Creating data processing agreements

Core Concepts

1. Personal Data Categories

Category	Examples	Protection Level
Basic	Name, email, phone	Standard
Sensitive (Art. 9)	Health, religion, ethnicity	Explicit consent
Criminal (Art. 10)	Convictions, offenses	Official authority
Children's	Under 16 data	Parental consent

2. Legal Bases for Processing

text

Article 6 - Lawful Bases:
├── Consent: Freely given, specific, informed
├── Contract: Necessary for contract performance
├── Legal Obligation: Required by law
├── Vital Interests: Protecting someone's life
├── Public Interest: Official functions
└── Legitimate Interest: Balanced against rights

3. Data Subject Rights

text

Right to Access (Art. 15)      ─┐
Right to Rectification (Art. 16) │
Right to Erasure (Art. 17)       │ Must respond
Right to Restrict (Art. 18)      │ within 1 month
Right to Portability (Art. 20)   │
Right to Object (Art. 21)       ─┘

Detailed worked examples and patterns

Detailed sections (starting with ## Implementation Patterns) live in references/details.md. Read that file when the navigation summary above is insufficient.

Best Practices

Do's

Minimize data collection - Only collect what's needed
Document everything - Processing activities, legal bases
Encrypt PII - At rest and in transit
Implement access controls - Need-to-know basis
Regular audits - Verify compliance continuously

Don'ts

Don't pre-check consent boxes - Must be opt-in
Don't bundle consent - Separate purposes separately
Don't retain indefinitely - Define and enforce retention
Don't ignore DSARs - 30-day response required
Don't transfer without safeguards - SCCs or adequacy decisions