Retention, archiving and deletion

1. Regulatory Concept & Core Standards

This video focuses on how to apply retention criteria without confusing closure with erasure. Follow the sequence of decisions in the example rather than simply memorising a list. Notice who is involved, what information is needed and the expected result. These points help turn the content into a practice that another person can verify. A reporting case may contain data about the reporting person, people concerned and third parties. Data protection must accompany the whole lifecycle, from the form to archiving. This course addresses operational decisions. Legal bases and restrictions on rights require assessment of the specific processing.

Law No 93/2021 requires reports to be kept for at least five years and throughout related judicial or administrative proceedings regardless of that period. This is a minimum, not permission to retain everything forever. The schedule must consider other applicable duties, relevant data and situations suspending deletion.

National rule: Entities responsible for channels must retain report records for at least five years and, regardless of that period, throughout any related judicial or administrative proceedings. The organisation must reconcile retention with data minimisation and security.

2. Practical Implementation & Procedure

Define information classes, the reference event, duration, review owner and final disposition. Before a scheduled deletion, check the applicable rule, necessity and any pending proceedings. Preserve material only where legally permitted or required; do not invent an extension to a statutory maximum. Include exported copies and archival media, with restricted access. Clearly irrelevant data follow their own deletion rule. Before moving on, turn this procedure into a sequence you could explain to a colleague. Identify the first check, the action that depends on its outcome and the record that allows the decision to be reconstructed. Follow the sequence on screen and identify the point where an error would change the result.

3. Case Study & Compliance Action

A case reaches an internal retention review date while related litigation is pending. The reviewer first establishes whether the date is an internal target or a statutory maximum. Any continued retention needs an applicable legal basis and a defined purpose. If the national maximum prohibits keeping the channel file, the team cannot simply suspend deletion because litigation exists; any separate use as evidence requires its own legal assessment. Now read the case carefully. Separate established facts from information you would still need to confirm. Do not add motives or events that have not been described. This distinction matters when choosing a response proportionate to the information available.

The exercise is as follows: Does expiry of five years always require immediate deletion of the case? Choose an answer and write one sentence explaining it. During the pause, compare your choice with the criteria we have just considered. Also think about the material you would retain to explain the decision later.

No. Check pending proceedings and other applicable grounds. Equally, the absence of an automatic maximum period does not permit unnecessary indefinite retention. Document the decision.

One mistake to avoid is: configuring a single deletion period without legally relevant exceptions.

The system deletes every case five years after receipt, regardless of the country and any pending proceedings. Is that appropriate?

No. Identify the local rule, starting event and any limits or extensions. A uniform schedule may delete records too early or retain them too long. Document the decision by category, include copies and define who reviews a suspension of deletion, rather than keeping everything indefinitely.