Legitimate-interest assessment (LIA)

By Jorge García Aibar Updated 2026-09-24

The documented three-step test for relying on legitimate interests: a lawful, precise and present interest; processing necessary for it; and a balance not overridden by people's rights and reasonable expectations ¹. Kept as a versioned artefact that points each mitigation at the control implementing it.

Developed in: ch. 19, Legitimate interests and the three-step test
Chapters: ch. 19, Privacy & AI
Source: 1 numbered reference, listed below

Where it is used

2 chapters of the Body of Knowledge use the term. Each link opens the first section that does.

Mentions per chapter How often each chapter names the term, with the chapters the glossary cross-references drawn solid. The longest bar is where to read the term in use; bars spread across many chapters mark a term that runs through the discipline.

Mentions as a table

Mentions of Legitimate-interest assessment (LIA) per chapter
Chapter	Mentions	Cross-referenced
00 Preface	0	No
01 Definition	0	No
02 Why Now	0	No
03 Values & Principles	0	No
04 The Stack	0	No
05 Patterns	0	No
06 The Role	0	No
07 Maturity Model	0	No
08 Regulatory Map	1	No
10 Reading List	0	No
11 AI Defined	0	No
12 Governance Program	0	No
13 Risk Management	0	No
14 Development	0	No
15 Deployment	0	No
16 Fairness & XAI	0	No
17 Incidents	0	No
18 EU AI Act	0	No
19 Privacy & AI	7	Yes
20 Existing Law	0	No
21 AI Laws Worldwide	0	No
22 Principles & Standards	0	No
23 AI Agents	0	No

08 · Regulatory Map Data protection and other EU law 1 mention
19 · Privacy & AI Principles applied to AI 7 mentions

Sources

[1] Opinion 28/2024 on certain data protection aspects related to the processing of personal data in the context of AI models (three-step legitimate-interest test; anonymity test and evidence). European Data Protection Board. 2024-12-17. https://www.edpb.europa.eu/system/files/2024-12/edpb_opinion_202428_ai-models_en.pdf (verified: primary)

Definitions of legal terms paraphrase the cited text, which governs. Dated statements are as of 2026-09-24.

Cite this term

García Aibar, J. (2026). Legitimate-interest assessment (LIA). In AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis & Body of Knowledge (v0.5.0), Glossary. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197. https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/legitimate-interest-assessment-lia. CC BY 4.0

BibTeX

@misc{aige2026legitimateinterestassessmentlia,
  author  = {Jorge García Aibar},
  title   = {{Legitimate-interest assessment (LIA)}},
  note    = {Glossary, AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis \& Body of Knowledge, version 0.5.0},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.5281/zenodo.22956197},
  url     = {https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/legitimate-interest-assessment-lia}
}