what is special category data

Special category data is personal data that requires more protection because it is sensitive. The UK GDPR defines special category data as personal data revealing or concerning racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data (where used for identification purposes), data concerning health, data concerning a person’s sex life, and data concerning a person’s sexual orientation. Processing of special category data is prohibited, except in limited circumstances set out in Article 9 of the GDPR. The exposure of GDPR special category data could significantly impact the privacy rights of the data subjects.