Data Protection Act 1998

The Data Protection Act came into full force on the 24th October 2001. The Act works in two ways. It gives you certain rights. It also says those who record and use personal information must be open about how the information is used and must follow the eight data protection principles listed below.

The Eight Data Protection Principles
The Act is governed by eight principles, which are listed below. Everybody must abide by these principles when dealing with data related to living individuals.

1) Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully and, in particular, shall not be processed unless:
(a) At least one of the conditions from schedule two is met, and
(b) In the case of sensitive data, at least one of the conditions in schedule three is met.
2) Personal data shall be obtained only for one or more specified and lawful purposes, and shall not be further processed in any manner incompatible with that purpose or those purposes.
3) Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose or purposes for which they are processed.
4) Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary kept up to date.
5) Personal data processed for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.
6) Personal data shall be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects under this Act.
7) Appropriate technical and organisational measures shall be taken against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of or damage to, Personal data.
8) Personal data shall not be transferred to a Country or territory outside the European Economic Area.

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