What is the objective of the principle 'Purpose Limitation' under GDPR?

The principle of 'Purpose Limitation' under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is primarily aimed at restricting data processing to certain specified purposes. This means that personal data should only be collected and processed for legitimate, explicit, and specific purposes, as defined at the time of collection. Organizations must clearly communicate these purposes to the data subjects when they collect their data, ensuring transparency.

Once the purpose for which the data was collected is achieved, organizations are typically not allowed to process that data for unrelated purposes unless they seek and obtain additional consent from the data subjects or there is another legal basis for doing so. This principle is fundamental in protecting individuals' privacy and maintaining control over their personal data, creating a trust environment between individuals and entities handling their data.

While the other options touch on important aspects of data protection, they do not encapsulate the core of purpose limitation as directly as the acknowledgment that data use must remain within defined boundaries. Accuracy and confidentiality focus on different aspects of data integrity, while retention relates more to how long data should be kept rather than the scope of its usage.