European UnionGDPR Articles 33-34, Breach Notification
Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Arts. 33-34
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In force since 25 May 2018.
A breach notification rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 23 August 2026.
What it requires
- Notify the competent supervisory authority without undue delay, and within 72 hours where feasible, after becoming aware of a personal data breach affecting EU personal data, unless the breach is unlikely to risk individuals' rights and freedoms.
- Notify affected individuals without undue delay where a breach is likely to result in a high risk to their rights and freedoms.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureNo
Private right of actionYes
Penalty structure
Article 83(4)(a) subjects the controller and processor obligations in Articles 8, 11, 25 to 39, 42 and 43, which include the Article 33 and 34 breach notification duties, to the lower administrative-fine tier, up to EUR 10,000,000 or 2 percent of total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher.
- Rule
- Higher of
- As of
- 2 September 2026
- Currency
- EUR
- Fixed cap
- 10,000,000
- Turnover percentage cap
- 2
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The data protection supervisory authority designated by each EU Member State under Article 51, coordinated on cross-border cases through the one stop shop mechanism and the European Data Protection Board (Articles 68-76).
Enforcement record
CMS GDPR Enforcement Tracker Report, 7th edition (cut-off 1 March 2026, published 21 May 2026): 2,685 fines with complete amount, date and controller information recorded across the EU/EEA since the GDPR became applicable on 25 May 2018 (3,062 including cases with incomplete information), totalling approximately EUR 6.11 billion, the first time the tracker's cumulative total crossed EUR 6 billion. actions_per_year (440) and fines_per_year (approximately EUR 487.6 million) are the report's own comparison against its prior, 2025 edition (roughly a one-year interval between editions), not a fixed calendar year; trend is recorded as rising on that reported increase. Counts DPA-imposed administrative fines only; the report does not separately track private civil claims under Article 82. This is the Regulation's enforcement record as a whole, not specific to Articles 33 and 34.
- As of
- 2 September 2026
- Trend
- Rising
- Currency
- EUR
- Source link
- https://cms.law/en/int/publication/GDPR-Enforcement-Tracker-Report/numbers-and-figures
- Total fines
- 6,110,000,000
- Fines per year
- 487,600,000
- Actions per year
- 440
What it reaches
Obligation class
Breach notice
Also on the record
EEA status
- Annex
- XI
- Status
- Incorporated
- Force date
- 20 July 2018
- Joint committee decision number
- 154/2018
- Source link
- https://www.efta.int/eea-lex/32016r0679
- Decision date
- 6 July 2018
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Article 33(1) requires the controller to notify the competent supervisory authority without undue delay, and where feasible within 72 hours of becoming aware of a personal data breach, unless the breach is unlikely to risk individuals' rights and freedoms, and a processor must notify its controller without undue delay.
Article 34 requires notice to affected individuals without undue delay where the breach is likely to result in a high risk to their rights and freedoms, unless the exposed data was rendered unintelligible, for example by strong encryption, or the controller has since eliminated the high risk.
When LexLint raises it
crawls_webtrains_modelsgenerates_contentdeploys_chatbotautomated_outreachhigh_risk_decisionsprocesses_voiceprocesses_biometrics
Read the law
Official Journal text, EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2016/679
Every line above is drawn from the primary source linked here, read on the date shown. This is a research summary, not legal advice.