1. In exceptional circumstances, where a supervisory authority concerned considers that there is an urgent need to act in order to protect the rights and freedoms of data subjects, it may, by way of derogation from the consistency mechanism referred to in Articles 63, 64 and 65 or the procedure referred to in Article 60, immediately adopt provisional measures intended to produce legal effects on its own territory with a specified period of validity which shall not exceed three months. The supervisory authority shall, without delay, communicate those measures and the reasons for adopting them to the other supervisory authorities concerned, to the Board and to the Commission.
Article 66 GDPR - Urgency procedure
2. Where a supervisory authority has taken a measure pursuant to paragraph 1 and considers that final measures need urgently be adopted, it may request an urgent opinion or an urgent binding decision from the Board, giving reasons for requesting such opinion or decision.
3. Any supervisory authority may request an urgent opinion or an urgent binding decision, as the case may be, from the Board where a competent supervisory authority has not taken an appropriate measure in a situation where there is an urgent need to act, in order to protect the rights and freedoms of data subjects, giving reasons for requesting such opinion or decision, including for the urgent need to act.
4. By derogation from Article 64(3) and Article 65(2), an urgent opinion or an urgent binding decision referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall be adopted within two weeks by simple majority of the members of the Board.
Relevant Recitals
Frequently Asked Questions
Short answers to common questions about this provision. They are general information and not legal advice.
In exceptional circumstances, where it considers there is an urgent need to act to protect the rights and freedoms of data subjects, a supervisory authority concerned may immediately adopt provisional measures, by way of derogation from the consistency mechanism in Articles 63, 64 and 65 and from the cooperation procedure in Article 60. The measures produce legal effects only on its own territory and for a specified period of validity not exceeding three months.
Article 66(1) requires the authority to communicate the measures and the reasons for adopting them, without delay, to the other supervisory authorities concerned, to the Board and to the Commission. The derogation is therefore not a licence to act unilaterally in silence; the other actors of the cooperation system must be informed at once.
Under Article 66(2), the authority that adopted provisional measures and considers that final measures need urgently to be adopted may request an urgent opinion or an urgent binding decision from the Board, giving reasons for the request. The three-month cap on the validity of provisional measures makes this route the only way to give urgent action lasting effect.
Yes. Article 66(3) allows any supervisory authority to request an urgent opinion or an urgent binding decision from the Board where a competent supervisory authority has not taken an appropriate measure despite an urgent need to act to protect the rights and freedoms of data subjects, giving reasons that must include the urgency itself.
By derogation from Article 64(3) and Article 65(2), an urgent opinion or urgent binding decision is adopted within two weeks by a simple majority of the members of the Board under Article 66(4). Both the deadline and the voting threshold are relaxed compared with the ordinary consistency procedures.