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EU regulatory register · GDPR

Article 21Right to object

CELEX 32016R0679 · Read on 2026-08-18 · Chapter III

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Short answer

1. The data subject shall have the right to object, on grounds relating to his or her particular situation, at any time to processing of personal data concerning him or her which is based on point (e) or (f) of Article 6(1), including profiling based on those provisions.

Verbatim from the article. Source: NovaCopilot · https://legal.exploreworldai.com/eu/rattsakter/gdpr-2016-679/artikel-21 · Short answer as data · Official text

Official text

Read from the EU Publications Office for this CELEX number. The wording stands as published; nothing here is rewritten or summarised.

1. The data subject shall have the right to object, on grounds relating to his or her particular situation, at any time to processing of personal data concerning him or her which is based on point (e) or (f) of Article 6(1), including profiling based on those provisions. The controller shall no longer process the personal data unless the controller demonstrates compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override the interests, rights and freedoms of the data subject or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

2. Where personal data are processed for direct marketing purposes, the data subject shall have the right to object at any time to processing of personal data concerning him or her for such marketing, which includes profiling to the extent that it is related to such direct marketing.

3. Where the data subject objects to processing for direct marketing purposes, the personal data shall no longer be processed for such purposes.

4. At the latest at the time of the first communication with the data subject, the right referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be explicitly brought to the attention of the data subject and shall be presented clearly and separately from any other information.

5. In the context of the use of information society services, and notwithstanding Directive 2002/58/EC, the data subject may exercise his or her right to object by automated means using technical specifications.

6. Where personal data are processed for scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes pursuant to Article 89(1), the data subject, on grounds relating to his or her particular situation, shall have the right to object to processing of personal data concerning him or her, unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out for reasons of public interest.

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Follow-up questions

Other articles in this chapter

Knowledge card

Applies
controller: Stop processing based on Article 6(1)(e) or (f) on objection unless compelling legitimate grounds override, and always stop processing for direct marketing on objection.
Risk if ignored
critical
What to do
Stop processing based on Article 6(1)(e) or (f) on objection unless compelling legitimate grounds override, and always stop processing for direct marketing on objection.
Deadline
The right to object must be explicitly brought to the data subject's attention at the latest at the first communication.

card:eu:article:gdpr--art-21 · sha256 86e9f3063a7e · Source: NovaCopilot

Risk, sanction and outcome

  • Art. 21 · controller

    Risk: high · Sanction: administrative_fine, högst EUR 20 000 000 · Authority: Competent supervisory authority

    Decisions applying the provision: none in the register

    Full chain (JSON)

Outcomes are counted from stored judgments that cite the provision verbatim. Source: NovaCopilot

Judgments of the Court of Justice

1 decisions

  • C-394/23Court of Justice of the European Union

    Mousse v Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL) and SNCF Connect

    Reference for a preliminary ruling – Protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data – Regulation (EU) 2016/679 – Article 5(1)(c) – Data minimisation – Article 6(1) – Lawfulness of processing – Data relating to title and gender identity – Online sale of travel documents – Article 21 – Right to object.

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Judgments applying this article

22 judgments in the register cite the article in their text. EU 12 · DE 10

Source: NovaCopilot

The text is quoted from the official source and is not legal advice. A national court reads the language version that binds in its jurisdiction.

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