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Glossary termPublished inEU AI Act

Special categories of personal data

What does "Special categories of personal data" mean under the EU AI Act?

The categories of personal data referred to in Article 9(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Article 10 of Directive (EU) 2016/680 and Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725:

Article 9(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679:

Processing of personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation shall be prohibited.

Article 10 of Directive (EU) 2016/680:

Processing of personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation shall be allowed only where strictly necessary, subject to appropriate safeguards for the rights and freedoms of the data subject, and only:
  • (a) where authorised by Union or Member State law;
  • (b) to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person; or
  • (c) where such processing relates to data which are manifestly made public by the data subject.

Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725:

Processing of personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation shall be prohibited.

Defined in / by

Last updated: 22 August 2026.

Regulations

  • EU Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI Act)

    The EU AI Act is Regulation (EU) 2024/1689. On 2 August 2026 its transparency rules and enforcement machinery took effect, but the high-risk regime for credit scoring and life and health insurance pricing did not: Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 moved it to 2 December 2027. Prohibitions have applied since February 2025.

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