The Data Protection Act Unit 7 Business and Communication Systems

When did the Data Protection Act become law?

The Data Protection Act became compulsory to citizen in 1984.

What changes were made to the Act in 1998?

It started to regulate the processing of information relating to individuals. This could include the obtaining information, the holding or storing of information or the disclosure of such information.

What is meant by the word data?

The use of information, that regards other people and their personal information.

The head teacher needs to be aware of the Data Protection Act because they need to understand the law that explains the rights and responsibilities of those dealing with personal data. With technology advancing, there are many databases that hold very large amounts of information. So the data Protection Act is reinforced to protect the children’s personal details.

Computer Misuse Act

The Computer Misuse Act 1990 is an Act of the UK Parliament. The Act's introduction followed the decision in R v Gold (1988) 1 AC 1063, with the bill's critics charging that it was introduced hastily and was poorly thought out. Intention, they said, was often difficult to prove, and that the bill inadequately differentiated "joyriding" crackers like Gold and Schifreen from serious computer criminals. The Act has nonetheless become a model upon which several other countries including Canada and the Republic of Ireland, have drawn inspiration when subsequently drafting their own information security laws. More generally, see computer crimes and internet fraud.