Data_Protection_Act

DATA PROTECTION FACTSHEET Data protection covers how information about living identifiable persons is used The Data Protection Act ’98 strikes a balance between the rights of individuals and the sometimes competing interests of those with legitamite reasons for using personnel information 8 Principles of good practise (processing information) 1 Fairly and lawfully gained 2 Processed for limited purposes 3 Adequate, relevant and not excessive 4 Accurate and up to date 5 Not kept longer than necessary 6 Processed in accordance with individuals rights 7 Secure 8 Not transferred to countries outside the EU Rights Under The Act There are seven rights under the Data Protection Act 1 The right to subject access This allows people to find out what information is held about them on computer and within some manual records 2 The right to prevent processing Anyone can ask a data controller not to process information relating to him or her that causes substantial unwarranted damage to them or anyone else 3 The right to prevent processing for direct marketing Anyone can ask a data controller not to process information relating to him or her for direct marketing purposes 4 Rights in relation to automated decision-taking Individuals have a right to object to decisions made only by automatic means e.g. there is no human involvement 5 The right to compensation An individual can claim compensation from data controller for damage or distress caused by any breach of the act. Compensation for distress alone can only be claimed in limited circumstances 6 The right to rectification, blocking, erasure and destruction Individuals can apply to the court to order a data controller to rectify, block or destroy personal detail if they are inaccurate or contain expressions of opinion based on inaccurate information 7 The right to ask the Commissioner to access whether the Act has been contravened If someone believes their personal information has not been processed in accordance with the DPA, they can ask the Commissioner to make an assessment. If the act is found to have been breached and the matter cannot be settled informally, then an enforcement notice may be served on the data controller in question. References Data protection act facts www.aimhigher.com