Guideline
Guidelines 4/2019 on Article 25 Data Protection by Design and by Default
- Date
- Status
- final
- Body
- European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- Reference
- Guidelines 4/2019, versie 2.0
What it is about
The EDPB explains what data protection by design and by default mean in practice: technical and organisational measures that build in the Article 5 principles. The text gives examples per principle. Version 2.0 was adopted on 20 October 2020 after consultation and is final.
What this means in practice
You must decide at the design stage how you safeguard the principles and be able to demonstrate it. Default settings must process as little data as possible. When buying software it is wise to ask the supplier how it supports this, because you remain responsible as controller.
The GDPR articles concerned
Source: EDPB guideline pagechecked on 15 September 2026
Summary and practical reading by Praxikon. Not legal advice; the source prevails.
Connections
What connects to this development
Themes where this returns
The counterpart in the other law
- Article 3 AI Act: Definitions
- Article 9 AI Act: Risk management system
- Article 10 AI Act: Data and data governance
- Article 11 AI Act: Technical documentation
via Keeping records: record of processing, technical documentation and logs
- Article 12 AI Act: Record-keeping
via Keeping records: record of processing, technical documentation and logs
- Article 15 AI Act: Accuracy, robustness and cybersecurity
- Article 16 AI Act: Obligations of providers of high-risk AI systems
- Article 18 AI Act: Documentation keeping
via Keeping records: record of processing, technical documentation and logs
- Article 19 AI Act: Automatically generated logs
via Keeping records: record of processing, technical documentation and logs
- Article 25 AI Act: Responsibilities along the AI value chain
- Article 26 AI Act: Obligations of deployers of high-risk AI systems
via Keeping records: record of processing, technical documentation and logs
Case law8 of 10
- Gelderland District Court: bankruptcy trustee is controller, DPA fine for unsecured hard drive cut to 58,125 euros
2025-08-07 · status not established, Rechtbank Gelderland
- Russmedia: an online marketplace operator is controller for personal data in adverts and must check before publication
2025-12-02 · final, Hof van Justitie van de EU (Grote kamer), X tegen Russmedia Digital SRL en Inform Media Press SRL
- Noord-Nederland District Court upholds DPA fine for village livestream, reduces it to 375 euros
2025-01-09 · status not established, Rechtbank Noord-Nederland
- Schrems v Meta: no unlimited retention and aggregation of data for targeted advertising
2024-10-04 · final, Hof van Justitie van de EU (Vierde kamer), Maximilian Schrems tegen Meta Platforms Ireland Limited
- Council of State: 600,000 euro fine for wifi tracking in Enschede stays annulled
2026-07-29 · final, Raad van State, Afdeling bestuursrechtspraak
- Mousse: asking for Mr or Ms when selling a train ticket is not necessary
2025-01-09 · final, Hof van Justitie van de EU (Eerste kamer), Mousse tegen Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL) en SNCF Connect
- Overijssel District Court revokes DPA fine for wifi tracking in Enschede
2024-02-02 · final, Rechtbank Overijssel
- Interim relief judge: DPA must redact fine amount when giving an enforcement decision to complainants
2024-05-31 · status not established, Rechtbank Den Haag, voorzieningenrechter (kort geding, team handel)
Guidelines8 of 9
- Guidelines 02/2025 on processing of personal data through blockchain technologies
2026-07-07 · final, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- Guidelines 01/2025 on Pseudonymisation
2025-01-16 · adopted, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- Guidelines 02/2026 on Anonymisation
2026-07-07 · under consultation, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- Opinion 28/2024 on certain data protection aspects related to the processing of personal data in the context of AI models
2024-12-17 · final, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- Guidelines 01/2021 on Examples regarding Personal Data Breach Notification
2021-12-14 · final, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- Guidelines 03/2026 on web scraping in the context of generative AI
2026-07-07 · under consultation, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- Guidelines 1/2024 on processing of personal data based on Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest)
2024-10-08 · adopted, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- Guidelines 1/2026 on processing of personal data for scientific research purposes
2026-04-15 · adopted, European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
Enforcement and fines8 of 11
- HAN University of Applied Sciences fined 175,000 euros for inadequate security
2025-12-15 · final, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
- Dutch DPA and tennis federation KNLTB end litigation: fine cut from 525,000 to at most 250,000 euros
2025-10-18 · status not established, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
- 600,000 euro fine for AS Watson (Kruidvat) over tracking cookies without consent
2024-05-02 · annulled, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
- 500 euro fine and penalty order for Stichting Oud Lemmer over webcam livestream
2021-07-09 · status not established, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
- 100 million euro fine for MLU B.V. (Yango) for transfers to Russia
2026-04-01 · status not established, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
- DPA cuts Kruidvat fine to 50,000 euros on objection
2025-05-27 · status not established, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
- Ten municipalities fined a total of 250,000 euros for unlawful files on Muslim residents
2026-02-03 · final, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
- Experian Netherlands fined 2.7 million euros for credit scoring without legal basis or information
2025-10-16 · final, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens
Legislation in motion
- Proposal: definition of scientific research, purpose limitation and information duty for research (Article 4(38), 5(1)(b) and 13(5) GDPR)
2025-11-19 · under negotiation, Europese Commissie
- Council: Cyprus Presidency tables negotiating mandate, Coreper vote of 26 June 2026 cancelled
2026-06-22 · under negotiation, Raad van de Europese Unie, Antici-groep (vereenvoudiging) en Coreper
- Commission publishes Digital Omnibus proposal COM(2025) 837
2025-11-19 · proposal, Europese Commissie