When does an organization need to legitimize cross-border transfers of personal data according to GDPR?

An organization needs to legitimize cross-border transfers of personal data primarily when it is sent to a third country that does not provide adequate protections for that data. Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), personal data can only be transferred outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) if the receiving country ensures a level of protection that is essentially equivalent to that of the GDPR.

When data is sent to a third country that lacks adequate protections, the organization must implement specific safeguards. This may include using Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs), or ensuring that consent from the data subjects has been obtained, among other compliance mechanisms. The emphasis is on ensuring that personal data remains protected, irrespective of where it is processed.

In contrast, when data is routed through another jurisdiction without actually being transferred to a different regulatory environment, or when transferring data within the EU, those situations do not necessarily require the same level of scrutiny or additional legal mechanisms since they still remain under the protections of GDPR. Specifically, data can be transferred to countries deemed adequate without additional measures, thus making the need for legitimization only critical in scenarios lacking such adequacy.