ICT AND SOCIETY

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 Bakhtawar Naveed 10MR Unit 3 ICT and Society Coursework 3E Page  of

ICT AND SOCIETY

Introduction

In this coursework I will be describing the different Acts designed for different

purposes to protect individuals, the community, people with special needs and the working adult. I will be talking about the Data Protection Act 1984 later changed to 1998, The Computer Misuse Act 1990, The Freedom of Information Act 2000 and The Copyright Design and Patterns Act 1989. All these Acts are deigned for the benefit of individuals as it restricts them from breaking some of the laws which is illegal.

Task1

The Data Protection Act 1998

 

The Data Protection Act was developed to give protection and lay down rules about how data about people can be used. Usually this data is stored on a computer.  The Data protection Act(DPA) is a United Kingdom Act of parliament that provides a legal basis and allowing for the privacy and protection of data of individuals in the UK. The act places restrictions on organisations which collect or hold data which can identify a living person. The Act does not apply to domestic use e.g. keeping a personal address book. Data collected by any person or organisation may only be used for the specific purposes for which they were collected. Personal data may only be kept for an appropriate length of time and must not be disclosed to other parties without the consent of the data owner, unless there is legislation or other overriding legitimate reason to share the information on former pupils for no longer than ten years. The act is overseen by an independent government authority, the Office of the information Commissioner. Individuals and organisations which store personal data must register with the Information Commissioner.

Why was it introduced?

It was introduced for the safety of the general people, to organize the way data was handled on computers and to give legal rights to the people who information stored about them. Companies, government and other organisations began to use them to store large amounts of information about people, such as their customers, clients and staff .Database with this information can be quickly set up, searched, edited and accessed and take up less space than paper records. In recent day’s organisations aren’t allowed to keep data longer than until it is of any use to them, now you need permission and acknowledgement of the specific person for their details and you must explain to them the reasons you’re asking for their personal details, how long the data is going to be kept with that specific organisation and under no circumstances are the organisation allowed to transfer the data to other organisations in that specific country or other countries.

The Positive Effects of this legislation are that: it keeps my data from being misused or transferred to other organisations without my permission as it also stops my school from publishing my GCSE result or any of my personal information without my authorisation. It furthermore affects the person in employment such as: Mark because it again stops his employment organisation from distributing his personal data without his permission and Mark has the right to see his personal details whenever he wants although he has to pay to see but if knows the details held of him by the organisation are incorrect than he can tell them and if he is correct there is a chance of him receiving some capital. Moreover it affects those with special needs such as: Mary as she is blind and uses special modern day technologies to help her through everyday lifestyle and working style so her data needs to be kept extra confidential because if her data is hacked, distributed or published she will have so many difficulties e.g. if she wanted a life insurance and the life insurance companies acknowledged about her disability they might refuse her application. Finally it effects the Community (Southall) because the people in my society have lots of different type of personal data stored in different organisations e.g. NHS they cannot under no circumstances of the law of this act can tell an unknown person about a specific person who might be suffering from an illness such as: Cancer because again life insurance companies won’t accept that specific person’s application because if they knew that person will soon be dieing they would have to pay compensation to the person’s family.

The Negative Effect of this legislation are that: as an individual, the person in employment, those with special needs and the community it doesn’t technically stop the person or organisations from publishing personal data of people and organisations keep previous data of people just for the record but according to law of this act they are not allowed to keep the data longer than of any use to them and if they fail to do this and get caught then they will face certain consequences.              

Who is affected by the legislation?

The people that are affected by the legislation are:

  • Individuals
  • The person in employment
  • The community
  • Those people with special needs

What protection does it offer?

It protects the people’s personal details, the detail they have given to organisations for specific motivation. It restricts the organisations from transferring the information onto other organisations. It prevents them from using the details for the wrong reasons and doesn’t give them the right to publish any sort of information without the permission of that specific person, and if they do that then they will face certain consequences. The information should also not be kept longer than of any use to the organisation and a specific person has a right to know what detail the organisation has

of him/her even though they have to pay (£10.00) to see the type of information they have and also if the information held is accurate.

What aspect of using ICT does it offer?

It protects Individuals e.g. their personal details address, date of birth and name it doesn’t give organisation to publish any sort of detail without the acknowledgement of the specific person. It gives individuals the right to know the detail organisation hold of him/her. It also benefits the community as the information held cannot be passed onto other companies. It affects the people with special needs as their personal detail needs to kept extra confidentially and people in the working adult as the data of them shouldn’t be transferred to other organisations without their permission.  

How the legislation is used by the groups or individuals described in other unit 3 assignments?

3A- The Individuals 

The Data Protection Act affects me a lot as at school since the school isn’t allowed to distribute my GCSE exam results or any of my personal details such as: Name, date of birth, medical details and address and if they do that then the school and the responsible will have to face certain consequences. The act also protects me at home as I am not allowed to place anyone’s picture on the internet or anyone placing my picture on the internet for public view. It also protects other individuals as the same rule applies to everyone else so and if anyone does get caught breaking this rule then they will face the penalties. This act allows me to know how much and for long the  my detail is going to be kept with a specific organisation e.g. school after I have left school done my GCSE than in a 10 year time the school should discard all confidential data that they have of me as it will be of no use to them. The school shouldn’t acknowledge any outsiders my confidential data because the data protection act restricts the school from doing this because if anyone wants a specific detail of a person than they firstly according to the act they have to go to the Office of the information commissioner and explain their

reasons. I use MSN email through which I communicate with all my friends and family members over the world, the MSN account has an email address which my contacts save in their list of contacts so they know the person who has sent them the mail. It also has a password that only I should know which protects all my data and the emails sent to me on my account so none else can use my account to do anything inappropriate.

3B- The Person in Employment- Mark

The Data Protection Act affects Mark a lot as all the confidential information the organisation (Woolworth) have of him must be kept away from all outsiders and unknown people e.g. Name, Date of Birth and Address. The details of him shouldn’t be kept longer than of any use to the organisation so after he leaves the organisations employment they should discard all his information in their database after a certain period of time and the company aren’t allowed to transfer his data to other organisation in Europe or out  without Mark’s permission. Mark has a legal right to know the detail the organisation hold of him even though he has to pay £10.00 to see, but he can challenge the data they hold of him and if it’s false than he can sue them.

If other organisations want to know the details of Mark for whatever reasons than they have to go to the Office of the Information Commissioner and explain to them their reasons. The organisation isn’t allowed to distribute or publish any of Mark’s confidential data for public and if they do that then the organisation will face certain consequences. Mark has a password and a user name through which he can access the organisations database in which all the confidential data of the organisation is stored and protected from all unknown people who have nothing to do with the organisation.  

3C- Those with special needs- Mary

The Data Protection Act affects people with special needs a lot e.g. Mary as she is blind and uses special technologies to help her through everyday lifestyle. The organisation she works (RNIB) with has all her details and are aware of the disabilities she has while at work. The RNIB aren’t allowed to publish or distribute any of her confidential information or transfer it to countries in and out of Europe. Mary has a legal right to know the details that are held of her by her working organisation even though she has to pay them £10.00 in order to see and if the information held is false than Mary can sue them. If other organisations want to know the details of Mary for whatever reasons than they have to go to the Office of the Information Commissioner and explain to them their reasons. The confidential information the organisation (RNIB) have of him must be kept away from all outsiders and unknown people e.g. Name, Date of Birth and Address. The details of her shouldn’t be kept longer than of any use to the organisation so after she leaves the organisations employment they should discard all his information out their database after a certain period of time. Mary uses email she has extra needs and her personal details need to be protected extra confidentially as she is blind and has to depend on the modern day technologies to get on with her daily lifestyle.  

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3D- The Community- Southall

The Data Protection Act affects Southall my community a lot as all the details held by the government organisation are kept protected and confidential by the employers working there e.g. your GP he has all his patients’ personal data in front of him all the time including information about any of the illness they might have. The doctor has no legal right pass on any details to any other organisations such as: Life insurance company so they won’t have her life insurance as the organisation will know that the person will die ...

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