For archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes whose goal is not to obtain results in a form relating to specific data subjects, the controller may process all personal data (§ 7 DSG), which
- are publicly accessible,
- the controller has lawfully collected for other investigations or other purposes, or
- are pseudonymised personal data for the controller, and the controller cannot establish the identity of the data subject by legal means.
In the case of processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes, personal data may be processed only
- according to special legal regulations,
- with the consent of the data subject, or
- with the permission of the DPA.
If special categories of personal data (Article9 of the General Data Protection Regulation) are to be collected, an important public interest in the research project must exist; furthermore, it must be ensured that the personal data are processed at the premises of the controller ordering the research project only by persons who are subject to a statutory obligation of confidentiality regarding the subject matter of the research project or whose reliability in this respect is credible.
