The European Data Protection Board has put into public consultation the Guidelines 1/2026 on the processing of personal data for scientific research purposes, a document that redefines how such data may be used in research projects within the European framework. The deadline for submitting observations will be open until June 25, 2026.
Six criteria for delimiting what is scientific research
The text establishes six factors to delimit the concept of scientific research, a relevant issue to determine what data treatments can be covered by this specific regime. The objective is to provide legal certainty to research centers, universities, hospitals and entities that work with personal information in scientific studies.
One of the central points is the possibility of resorting to Broad Consent when the specific purposes of the research cannot be fully defined at the initial moment of data collection. That option is subject to the existence of safeguards, although the document thus opens the door for certain projects to advance without the need to specify from the beginning all their future uses.
More margin to reuse data in new projects
The guidelines also introduce the so-called Dynamic Consent, a system designed so that citizens can decide project by project the use of their personal data. With this model, control over information is proposed continuously and not as a closed authorization granted only once.
Another of the relevant changes is the presumption of compatibility between the initial collection of data and its subsequent use for scientific purposes. This criterion facilitates the reuse of already collected information, always within the framework foreseen for research and under the guarantees required by data protection regulations.
Spain supports legitimate interest as legal basis
España, through the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos, also supports the recognition of legitimate interest as a legal basis for research. That position places the Spanish authority among those that advocate for expanding the legal avenues available for data processing in this area, beyond the traditional schemes based solely on consent.
The new framework also connects with the proposal of the European Biotech Act, promoted to facilitate the secondary use of data in clinical trials. With this, the future European regulation points to a scenario with more flexibility for biomedical and scientific research, although subject to the balance between innovation, legal guarantees and control over personal information.