Data protection act comparison
Data protection act 1984 summarized
This act is concerned with firms, which process personal data about individuals on a computer. It states that they must register with the data protection registrar. The act has eight main principles with which all registered data users much stick by:
- 1. The information to be contained in personal data shall be obtained, and personal data shall be processed, fairly and lawfully.
- 2. Personal data shall be held only for one or more specified and lawful purposes.
- 3. Data held for any purpose or purposes shall not be used or disclosed in any manner incompatible with that purpose or those purposes.
- 4. Personal Data held for any purpose or purposes shall be adequate, relevant, and not excessive in relation to that purpose or those purposes.
- 5. Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date.
- 6. Personal data held for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.
- 7. An individual shall be entitled:
- 7. (a) at reasonable intervals and without undue delay or expense.
- 7. (a) (i) to be informed by any Data User whether he holds personal data of which that individual is the subject, and
- 7. (a) (ii) to access to any such data held by a Data User, and
- 7. (b) where appropriate, to have such data corrected or erased.
- 8. Appropriate security measures shall be taken against unauthorized access to, or alteration, disclosure or destruction of, personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of personal data.