For EU’s GDPR regulation, please visit Europe: Privacy and Data Protection-related Laws

Privacy law in Denmark is supervised and enforced by an independent agency called Datatilsynet (the Danish Data Protection Agency). It is primarily based upon the Act on Processing of Personal Data.

Act on Processing of Personal Data:

• Applies to all private companies, associations, organizations, and the public authorities
• Regulates when and how personal data can be processed in an electronic system and how it can be handled manually (if contained in a register)
• In the private sector, it also applies to systematic processing of personal data, even if it does not happen electronically
• Differentiates between 3 types of personal data that must be treated differently: sensitive information, information regarding other purely private conditions, ordinary non-sensitive information
• Citizens are given a series of rights to give them more control over information stored about them:
  • Right to insight into the information that is being handled about the citizen
  • Right to be informed that information is being collected about the citizen
  • Right to have incorrect information deleted or corrected

In October 2017, the Danish Minister of Justice issued a proposal for a new Danish Data Protection Act to implement the European Union’s GDPR. This Act entered into force at the same time as GDPR, on May 25, 2018. GDPR does not apply to areas of law that are outside the scope of European Union law, such as national security, purely personal matters, or household activities. In Denmark, the age at which a child can provide valid consent is reduced to 13 years (16 years old in the European Union). Personal registration numbers (CPR numbers) are also regarded as sensitive personal data. There are also special Danish rules regarding the use of personal data for marketing purposes.

Sources

• Datatilsynet Website
• Act on Processing of Personal Data

• Linklaters: Data Protected- Denmark

• Datatilsynet Website
• Act on Processing of Personal Data
• Linklaters: Data Protected- Denmark