Regulation (EU) 2016/679 as retained in UK law (UK GDPR) – Article 23 – Restrictions

Articles

Article 23Restrictions

1. [^F1The Secretary of State may restrict] the scope of the obligations and rights [^F2arising under or by virtue of Articles 12 to 22D] and Article 34, as well as Article 5 in so far as its provisions correspond to the rights and obligations [^F2arising under or by virtue of Articles 12 to 22D], when such a restriction respects the essence of the fundamental rights and freedoms and is a necessary and proportionate measure in a democratic society to safeguard:

(a)
^F3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(b)
^F3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(c)
public security;
(d)
the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, including the safeguarding against and the prevention of threats to public security;
(e)
other important objectives of general public interest ^F4... , in particular an important economic or financial interest [^F5of the United Kingdom], including monetary, budgetary and taxation a matters, public health and social security;
(f)
the protection of judicial independence and judicial proceedings;
(g)
the prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of breaches of ethics for regulated professions;
(h)
a monitoring, inspection or regulatory function connected, even occasionally, to the exercise of official authority in the cases referred to in points [^F6(c)] to (e) and (g);
(i)
the protection of the data subject or the rights and freedoms of others;
(j)
the enforcement of civil law claims.

2. In particular, [^F7provision made in exercise of the power under] paragraph 1 shall contain specific provisions at least, where relevant, as to:

(a)
the purposes of the processing or categories of processing;
(b)
the categories of personal data;
(c)
the scope of the restrictions introduced;
(d)
the safeguards to prevent abuse or unlawful access or transfer;
(e)
the specification of the controller or categories of controllers;
(f)
the storage periods and the applicable safeguards taking into account the nature, scope and purposes of the processing or categories of processing;
(g)
the risks to the rights and freedoms of data subjects; and
(h)
the right of data subjects to be informed about the restriction, unless that may be prejudicial to the purpose of the restriction.

3. [^F8 The Secretary of State may exercise the power under paragraph 1 only by making regulations under section 16 of the 2018 Act.]

Amended text

This Article is shown as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (c. 18), among other instruments (see the annotations below) (commenced provisions as at 30 September 2026, ELI), as incorporated in the text in force on 30 September 2026 as published on legislation.gov.uk.

Annotations and footnotes

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in Art. 23(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 19(2)(a) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
F2 Words in Art. 23(1) substituted (5.2.2026) by Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (c. 18), s. 142(1), Sch. 6 para. 7; S.I. 2026/82, reg. 2(z8) (with reg. 5)
F3 Art. 23(1)(a)(b) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 19(2)(b) (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
F4 Words in Art. 23(1)(e) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 19(2)(c)(i) (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
F5 Words in Art. 23(1)(e) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 19(2)(c)(ii) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
F6 Word in Art. 23(1)(h) substituted (20.8.2025) by Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (c. 18), s. 142(1), Sch. 11 para. 6; S.I. 2025/904, reg. 2(y)
F7 Words in Art. 23(2) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 19(3) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
F8 Art. 23(3) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 19(4) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

https://uk-gdpr.digiphile.law/article/article-23.html

Text as at 17 September 2026.

This is an unofficial convenience version of the UK GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679 as retained in UK law). It is presented “as is” without guarantee of accuracy, completeness or reliability. See the source text for the official version. This site was last updated in September 2026.