Recital (43)

A natural person should have the right of access to data which has been collected concerning him or her, and to exercise this right easily and at reasonable intervals, in order to be aware of and verify the lawfulness of the processing. Every data subject should therefore have the right to know, and obtain communications about, the purposes for which the data are processed, the period during which the data are processed and the recipients of the data, including those in third countries. Where such communications include information as to the origin of the personal data, the information should not reveal the identity of natural persons, in particular confidential sources. For that right to be complied with, it is sufficient that the data subject be in possession of a full summary of those data in an intelligible form, that is to say a form which allows that data subject to become aware of those data and to verify that they are accurate and processed in accordance with this Directive, so that it is possible for him or her to exercise the rights conferred on him or her by this Directive. Such a summary could be provided in the form of a copy of the personal data undergoing processing.