Right to rectification
The right to rectification means that data subjects can have inaccurate data corrected and have additions made to incomplete data.
If data are corrected, the controller must let all other recipients of the data know about this, unless the effort is disproportionately great (see Notification-obligation).
In Germany, the Federal Data Protection Act limits the right to correction in the case of data processing for scientific research (see Research purposes). This restriction also applies to data processing for archiving purposes in the public interest. In this case, however, the parties concerned have the right to submit a counter-statement, which the archive must include in the documents.
Article 16 GDPR (Right to rectification)
The data subject shall have the right to obtain from the controller without undue delay the rectification of inaccurate personal data concerning him or her. Taking into account the purposes of the processing, the data subject shall have the right to have incomplete personal data completed, including by means of providing a supplementary statement.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (see also recital 65)
Section 27(2) BDSG (Data processing for purposes of scientific or historical research and for statistical purposes)
The rights of data subjects provided in Articles 15, 16, 18 and 21 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 shall be limited to the extent that these rights are likely to render impossible or seriously impair the achievement of the research or statistical purposes, and such limits are necessary for the fulfilment of the research or statistical purposes. Further, the right of access according to Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 shall not apply if the data are necessary for purposes of scientific research and the provision of information would involve disproportionate effort.
Source: German Federal Data Protection Act
Section 28(3) BDSG (Data processing for archiving purposes in the public interest)
The right of the data subject to rectification according to Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 shall not apply if the personal data are processed for archiving purposes in the public interest. If the data subject disputes the accuracy of the personal data, he or she shall have the opportunity to present his or her version. The responsible archive shall be obligated to add this version to the files.
