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Processing

What is Processing?

Any operation or set of operations performed on personal data, whether or not by automated means. Under GDPR, processing includes collection, recording, storage, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure, erasure, and destruction.

Privacy

What the standards actually require on processing

Requirements naming processing across 6 standards, quoted from the control text.

Plan and prepare for circumstances that preclude returning to the primary processing site.

NIST800-CP-7(6) · CP-7(6) Alternate Processing Site | Inability to Return to Primary Site →

The organization must give individuals a way to object to their data being processed. It must document the legal and regulatory rules on objection, for example objection to direct marketing, tell individuals when they are entitled to object, and offer a mechan...

iso-iec-27701-2025::A.1.3.6 · Providing mechanism to object to PII processing →
ISO 27701:201937 controls

The organization must delete personal data, or turn it into a form from which the individual cannot be identified or re-identified, once the identified purposes no longer need the original data, having mechanisms to erase data when no further processing is ant...

iso-27701-2019::7.4.5 · PII de-identification and deletion at the end of processing →

Where the purposes do not require, or no longer require, identifying the data subject, the controller need not keep, obtain or process extra information only to comply with the Law.

albania-law-no-124-2024-on-personal-data-protection::11 · Article 11: processing that does not require identification →

Personal data must be collected for a specific and clear purpose and not processed later in a way incompatible with it; further processing is allowed only where the purpose is similar or close to the original one.

federal-decree-law-no-45-of-2021-on-the-protection-of-personal-data-uae-pdpl::5(2) · Article 5(2): specified purpose and compatible further processing →

The controller puts suitable measures in place so that, above all, the principles of GDPR Art. 5 (lawfulness, fairness and transparency, purpose limitation, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity and confidentiality, accountability) are com...

germany-federal-data-protection-act-bdsg::s26-5 · s 26(5) Take measures to ensure the GDPR principles are met in employee data processing →

Questions people ask about processing

What is Processing?
Any operation or set of operations performed on personal data, whether or not by automated means. Under GDPR, processing includes collection, recording, storage, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure, erasure, and destruction.
Why is Processing important for compliance?
Processing is a key concept in Privacy. Understanding processing helps organizations meet regulatory requirements, reduce risk, and demonstrate due diligence during audits. Our compliance platform maps 1,016 frameworks with 316K cross-framework control mappings.
Which compliance frameworks address Processing?
Processing appears in the requirement text of NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5, ISO/IEC 27701:2025, ISO 27701:2019, Albania Law No. 124/2024 on Personal Data Protection, Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on the Protection of Personal Data (UAE PDPL). Across these standards we have identified 235 controls that name it directly, each linked to the control text on the compliance platform.
Where can I learn more about Processing?
Explore our compliance framework pages to see how processing applies across different standards and regulations. Our implementation guides provide step-by-step guidance, and the compliance platform offers AI-powered analysis of how this concept maps across 1,016 frameworks.

See how Processing applies across compliance frameworks

Our platform maps 1,016 frameworks with 316K cross-framework control mappings. Explore how this concept is addressed across standards.

Written and maintained by Gerard Blokdyk, The Art of Service.