Access to data

Access to personal data should be carefully controlled as there may be a lot of private information which you do not wish to share with other persons or the public at large.

Data users (controllers) must ensure the confidentiality of your personal data. At other times access to data may be necessary to secure other important interests.

Right to access information

There are two perspectives on your right to access data:

  • access to someone else’s information
  • access to your own information

example You can request access to all of the personal data about you that has been collected, and is stored in a database at the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs of Latvia. In addition, a person who wants to make a claim against you may request information about your address from this institution, as a claimant has to indicate a defendant’s address in order to lodge a claim before a court, according to the Civil Procedure Law. In such a situation, the disclosure of your address restricts your right to control the use of your personal data.

What human rights violation may there be?

Unlawful disclosure of your data to other persons may result in a violation of your right to private life.

About this section

In this section you can learn how to access your own and someone else’s data.

Human Rights Guide

A European platform for human rights education