Article 4. Definitions

For the purposes of this Law, the following terms mean:

1. personal data – any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter ‘data subject’). An identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data or an online identifier, or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person;
2. processing – any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction;
3. restriction of processing – the marking of stored personal data with the aim of limiting their processing in the future;
4. profiling – any form of automated processing of personal data consisting of the use of personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyse or predict aspects concerning that natural person’s performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behaviour, location or movements;
5. pseudonymisation – the processing of personal data in such a manner that the personal data can no longer be attributed to a specific data subject without the use of additional information, provided that such additional information is kept separately and is subject to technical and organisational measures to ensure that the personal data are not attributed to an identified or identifiable natural person;
6. filing system – any structured set of personal data which are accessible according to specific criteria, whether centralised, decentralised or dispersed on a functional or geographical basis;
7. controller – the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data. Where the purposes and means of processing are determined by normative acts, the controller or the specific criteria for its designation are laid down in those normative acts;
8. processor – a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller;
9. establishment – the place of effective and real exercise of an activity through stable arrangements;
10. recipient – a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body to which the personal data are disclosed, whether a third party or not. Public authorities which may receive personal data in the framework of a particular inquiry in accordance with normative acts shall not be regarded as recipients; the processing of those data by those public authorities shall comply with the applicable data protection rules according to the purposes of the processing;
11. third party – a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or body other than the data subject, controller, processor and persons who, under the direct authority of the controller or processor, are authorised to process personal data;
12. consent – any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her;
13. personal data breach – a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration or unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed;
14. genetic data – personal data relating to the inherited or acquired genetic characteristics of a natural person which give unique information about the physiology or the health of that natural person and which result, in particular, from an analysis of a biological sample from the natural person in question;
15. biometric data – personal data resulting from specific technical processing relating to the physical, physiological or behavioural characteristics of a natural person, which allow or confirm the unique identification of that natural person, such as facial images or dactyloscopic data;
16. data concerning health – personal data related to the physical or mental health of a natural person, including the provision of health care services, which reveal information about his or her health status;
17. national identification number – a number by which a natural person is identified in certain filing systems and which is of general application, such as: the state identification number, the series and number of the identity card, or the number of the passport or of the driving licence;
18. representative – a natural or legal person established in the Republic of Moldova who, designated by the controller or processor in writing pursuant to art. 27, represents the controller or processor with regard to their respective obligations under this Law;
19. enterprise – a natural or legal person engaged in an economic activity, irrespective of its legal form, including partnerships or associations regularly engaged in an economic activity;
20. group of enterprises – a controlling enterprise and its controlled enterprises;
21. binding corporate rules – personal data protection policies which are adhered to by a controller or processor established in the territory of the Republic of Moldova for transfers or a set of transfers of personal data to a controller or processor in one or more states within a group of enterprises, or group of enterprises engaged in a joint economic activity;
22. total turnover – turnover as defined in art. 4 of Competition Law No. 183/2012;
23. information society services – services as defined in art. 4 of Law No. 284/2004 on Information Society Services;
24. direct marketing – the communication, by telephone, post or any other means of direct communication, of advertising or marketing messages (promoting goods or services) addressed to private individuals;
25. international organisation – an organisation and its subordinate bodies governed by public international law, or any other body which is set up by, or on the basis of, an agreement between two or more states.