4.5.2016
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
L 119/23
processing in the context of the activities of an establishment of the controller or processor on the territory of its
own Member State, the processing of personal data carried out by public authorities or private bodies acting in
the public interest, processing affecting data subjects on its territory or processing carried out by a controller or
processor not established in the Union when targeting data subjects residing on its territory. This should include
handling complaints lodged by a data subject, conducting investigations on the application of this Regulation and
promoting public awareness of the risks, rules, safeguards and rights in relation to the processing of personal
data.
(123) The supervisory authorities should monitor the application of the provisions pursuant to this Regulation and
contribute to its consistent application throughout the Union, in order to protect natural persons in relation to
the processing of their personal data and to facilitate the free flow of personal data within the internal market.
For that purpose, the supervisory authorities should cooperate with each other and with the Commission,
without the need for any agreement between Member States on the provision of mutual assistance or on such
cooperation.
(124) Where the processing of personal data takes place in the context of the activities of an establishment of a
controller or a processor in the Union and the controller or processor is established in more than one
Member State, or where processing taking place in the context of the activities of a single establishment of a
controller or processor in the Union substantially affects or is likely to substantially affect data subjects in more
than one Member State, the supervisory authority for the main establishment of the controller or processor or
for the single establishment of the controller or processor should act as lead authority. It should cooperate with
the other authorities concerned, because the controller or processor has an establishment on the territory of their
Member State, because data subjects residing on their territory are substantially affected, or because a complaint
has been lodged with them. Also where a data subject not residing in that Member State has lodged a complaint,
the supervisory authority with which such complaint has been lodged should also be a supervisory authority
concerned. Within its tasks to issue guidelines on any question covering the application of this Regulation, the
Board should be able to issue guidelines in particular on the criteria to be taken into account in order to
ascertain whether the processing in question substantially affects data subjects in more than one Member State
and on what constitutes a relevant and reasoned objection.
(125) The lead authority should be competent to adopt binding decisions regarding measures applying the powers
conferred on it in accordance with this Regulation. In its capacity as lead authority, the supervisory authority
should closely involve and coordinate the supervisory authorities concerned in the decision-making process.
Where the decision is to reject the complaint by the data subject in whole or in part, that decision should be
adopted by the supervisory authority with which the complaint has been lodged.
(126) The decision should be agreed jointly by the lead supervisory authority and the supervisory authorities concerned
and should be directed towards the main or single establishment of the controller or processor and be binding on
the controller and processor. The controller or processor should take the necessary measures to ensure
compliance with this Regulation and the implementation of the decision notified by the lead supervisory
authority to the main establishment of the controller or processor as regards the processing activities in the
Union.
(127) Each supervisory authority not acting as the lead supervisory authority should be competent to handle local
cases where the controller or processor is established in more than one Member State, but the subject matter of
the specific processing concerns only processing carried out in a single Member State and involves only data
subjects in that single Member State, for example, where the subject matter concerns the processing of employees'
personal data in the specific employment context of a Member State. In such cases, the supervisory authority
should inform the lead supervisory authority without delay about the matter. After being informed, the lead
supervisory authority should decide, whether it will handle the case pursuant to the provision on cooperation
between the lead supervisory authority and other supervisory authorities concerned (‘one-stop-shop mechanism’),
or whether the supervisory authority which informed it should handle the case at local level. When deciding
whether it will handle the case, the lead supervisory authority should take into account whether there is an
establishment of the controller or processor in the Member State of the supervisory authority which informed it
in order to ensure effective enforcement of a decision vis-à-vis the controller or processor. Where the lead
supervisory authority decides to handle the case, the supervisory authority which informed it should have the