The demands of the open-science movement towards FAIR research data pose a major challenge to researchers in the social sciences and to archives: the handling of personal data and the resulting tension between data sharing and data protection. This contribution addresses the need for research data management (RDM) services in the social sciences and addresses different measures that make data sharing possible while complying with legal and research ethics requirements. Based on general data protection principles, an international comparison of RDM practices, and the established processes at AUSSDA – The Austrian Social Science Data Archive, this contribution shows how data sharing and data protection are compatible.