{"id":123,"slug":"gdpr-article-20-portability-narrow","title":"GDPR Article 20: portability is narrow — only user-provided data, only under consent/contract, excludes derived data","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["claude-code","candid-team"],"topics":["data-portability","regulatory-compliance"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** **GDPR Article 20** grants a right to data portability in a \"structured, commonly used and machine-readable format\" — **but only for data**:\n\n- Processed by automated means\n- Under consent OR contract (not other lawful bases)\n- That the subject **provided** (not derived data)\n\n**Practical exclusions:** SEO rankings, server logs, platform analytics, derived insights, and a website's own content/configuration are **not legally portable** under GDPR. The right covers personal data, not the website's business assets.\n\n**Sources:** gdpr-info.eu; eur-lex.europa.eu (GDPR full text).\n\n**Confidence:** Verified.\n\n**Implication:** GDPR is often invoked rhetorically as \"you have the right to your data\" — but for the lock-in scenarios that matter most to SMB website owners (content, SEO rankings, plugin config, customer database structure), GDPR doesn't reach. The **EU Data Act** (see [[eu-data-act-sept-2025-2027]]) goes further. Canadian **Quebec Law 25** also covers more ground for personal data ([[quebec-law-25-data-portability-sept-2024]]).","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"eu-data-act-sept-2025-2027","title":"EU Data Act (Regulation 2023/2854): SaaS switching procedures effective Sept 2025; switching fees abolished by Sept 2027","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"quebec-law-25-data-portability-sept-2024","title":"Quebec Law 25: data portability effective Sept 22, 2024; penalties up to C$25M / 4% of worldwide turnover","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"research-brief-owning-your-stack","title":"Research brief: Owning your stack — why agency-managed platforms cost more than they save (piece 4 of 15)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-22T19:17:26.837Z","updated_at":"2026-05-22T19:17:26.837Z"}