Data Protection Act : The Act

Data Protection Act : The Act

The first Data Protection Act was introduced in 1984. This was replaced in 1998 by a new Data Protection Act which changed the law to meet the requirements of the European Union.

The Data Protection Act gives rights to individuals about whom information is stored. Individuals may find out information about themselves, challenge it and claim compensation in certain circumstances. The Act places legal requirements on those who store and use personal data. They must let everyone know about their use of data and follow the data protection principles.

The 1984 Act only covered data that was stored on a computer. The 1998 Act covers data that is stored either :

on a computer, or,
on paper in an organised filing system such as a card index or filing cabinet.

The Data Protection Act applies only to information which relates to living individuals.

The following definitions are used by the act :

Definitions
Personal Data	Information about a living individual who can be identified.
Data Subject	An individual about whom data is stored.
Data Controller	A person who holds personal data for processing.

GCSE ICT Companion 04 - (C) P Meakin 2004