Case C-25/17: Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 10 July 2018 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Korkein hallinto-oikeus — Finland) — proceedings brought by Tietosuojavaltuutettu (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data — Directive 95/46/EC — Scope of the directive — Article 3 — Data collected and processed by the members of a religious community in the course of their door-to-door preaching — Article 2(c) — Definition of a ‘personal data filing system’ — Article 2(d) — Definition of a ‘controller’ of the processing of personal data — Article 10(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union)
Date: 2018-07-10
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: Christianity, data collection, data protection, freedom of religious beliefs, personal data, religious group








C_2018319EN.01000701.xml










10.9.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 319/7






Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 10 July 2018 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Korkein hallinto-oikeus — Finland) — proceedings brought by Tietosuojavaltuutettu
(Case C-25/17) (1)

((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data - Directive 95/46/EC - Scope of the directive - Article 3 - Data collected and processed by the members of a religious community in the course of their door-to-door preaching - Article 2(c) - Definition of a ‘personal data filing system’ - Article 2(d) - Definition of a ‘controller’ of the processing of personal data - Article 10(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union))
(2018/C 319/07)
Language of the case: Finnish

Referring court

Korkein hallinto-oikeus

Parties to the main proceedings

Tietosuojavaltuutettu

In the presence of: Jehovan todistajat — uskonnollinen yhdyskunta

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Article 3(2) of Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, read in the light of Article 10(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, must be interpreted as meaning that the collection of personal data by members of a religious community in the course of door-to-door preaching and the subsequent processing of those data does not constitute either the processing of personal data for the purpose of activities referred to in Article 3(2), first indent, of that directive or the processing of personal data carried out by a natural person in the course of a purely personal or household activity, within the meaning of Article 3(2), second indent, thereof.










2.


Article 2(c) of Directive 95/46 must be interpreted as meaning that the concept of a ‘filing system’, referred to by that provision, covers a set of personal data collected in the course of door-to-door preaching, consisting of the names and addresses and other information concerning the persons contacted, if those data are structured according to specific criteria which, in practice, enable them to be easily retrieved for subsequent use. In order for such a set of data to fall within that concept, it is not necessary that they include data sheets, specific lists or other search methods.










3.


Article 2(d) of Directive 95/46, read in the light of Article 10(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, must be interpreted as meaning that it supports the finding that a religious community is a controller, jointly with its members who engage in preaching, for the processing of personal data carried out by the latter in the context of door-to-door preaching organised, coordinated and encouraged by that community, without it being necessary that the community has access to those data, or to establish that that community has given its members written guidelines or instructions in relation to the data processing.






(1)  OJ C 86, 20.3.2017.