1. The Board shall act independently when performing its tasks or exercising its powers pursuant to Articles 70 and 71.
Article 69 GDPR - Independence
2. Without prejudice to requests by the Commission referred to in Article 70(1) and (2), the Board shall, in the performance of its tasks or the exercise of its powers, neither seek nor take instructions from anybody.
Relevant Recitals
Frequently Asked Questions
Short answers to common questions about this provision. They are general information and not legal advice.
It guarantees that the Board acts independently when performing its tasks or exercising its powers pursuant to Articles 70 and 71. The guarantee mirrors at Union level the independence that Article 52 secures for each national supervisory authority.
No. Article 69(2) provides that, in the performance of its tasks or the exercise of its powers, the Board shall neither seek nor take instructions from anybody, which excludes direction by governments, the Union institutions and private parties alike.
Article 69(2) applies without prejudice to requests by the Commission referred to in Article 70(1) and (2), so the Commission may ask the Board for advice and indicate a time limit for it. Such a request obliges the Board to engage with the matter but does not entitle the Commission to dictate the content of the Board's answer.
No. Under Article 68(5) the Commission participates without voting rights, so it can contribute to discussion but cannot determine outcomes, and Article 69(2) bars the Board from taking instructions from it outside the request mechanism of Article 70(1) and (2).
The text ties the guarantee to the tasks and powers exercised pursuant to Articles 70 and 71, which cover the whole of the Board's substantive activity, from guidelines and opinions to the annual report. Read together with Article 69(2), which speaks generally of the performance of its tasks, the guarantee extends across everything the Board does under the Regulation.