Transcript data protection act

The Data Protection
Act 1998
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Data Protection Act 1998

4 key points you need to learn/understand/revise
1. Reasons
4. Exemptions
DPA
2. People
3. Principles
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Reasons for the DPA 1

Personal Privacy is a basic human right
• Computer systems contain large
amounts of personal data that
may be sensitive
• Personal privacy and rights for
individuals demand good
information handling practice
• The DPA is an attempt to address
this issue
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Reasons for the DPA 2

The DPA was first passed in 1984 and revised in 1998 (to
bring it into line with other European Union countries)
•
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Set of regulations for
storing personal data
1998 Act was extended to
cover paper-based data
(previously only covered
automatically processed
data)
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People
• The DPA refers to two types of people
• Data Controllers
(formerly called data holders)
• Data Subjects
• The DPA is enforced by the Information
Commissioner
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The Information Commissioner

The Commissioner has responsibility for ensuring the
DPA is enforced
•
•
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Keeps a public register of data
controllers
Promotes good information
handling practice
Advises on data protection issues
and acts as an ombudsman
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Data Controllers/Subjects

Data Controllers - Those who control the contents and use
of a collection of personal data.
•

Data controllers must register with the Information
Commissioner. They must register a description of the data
being processed, the purpose information will be used for,
from whom it will be obtained and to whom it will be
disclosed
Data Subjects - The individuals to whom the data relates
•
We are all data subjects!
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Eight DPA Principles

Once registered users/controllers must comply with 8 data
protection principles

Personal Data must be:
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•
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Fairly & Lawfully processed
Use your textbook
to find out what
Processed for limited purposes
these actually
Adequate, relevant and not excessive
mean!
Accurate
Pages 108-110
Not kept longer than necessary
Mott and Leeming
Processed in accordance with rights
2nd Edition
Secure
Not transferred to other countries without protection
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Data Subjects’ Rights
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Under the sixth principle data subjects have the right to
see data held about them
•
•
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Data controllers must supply this information in 40 days
They may charge a small fee for administration
Data subjects have the right to
•
•
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Have any errors corrected
Compensation for any distress if the Act has been broken
Prevent processing for direct marketing or automated decision
making
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Data Subjects’ Rights 2

Organisations do not normally need your consent to process
your personal data as part of their normal work e.g. using
loyalty card data to send you direct marketing
•
•
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You agree to this when you apply
for the card
However, they cannot pass on
your data without your consent
In practice you often grant this by
failing to tick a box on application
forms!
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Exemptions

There are a number of examptions from the priciples of
the Data Protection Act. Exemption exists:
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If the information is held to safeguard national security
If the information is used to prevent crime
If the information is used to collect taxes
If the information is used in journalism for historical purposes
Personal data about family/household affairs doesn’t
need to be registered
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Summary/Revision

Use the your textbook or the
Internet to make your OWN
notes on the Data Protection Act
FatMax 2007. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License