Means personal data that is more sensitive and therefore require more protection then “regular” personal data. Special category data is often referred to as “sensitive data”. The different types of data that can be categorised as special is stated in Article 9 (1) GDPR that says:

“Processing of personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation shall be prohibited.”

In order to process special category data, the controller also needs to be aware of the specific demands stated in Article 9 (2) GDPR.