The Purpose Of The Data Protection Act

The purpose of the Data Protection Act is to protect individuals and their information from misuse by organizations. This act was first introduced in 1984 and then was revised in 1989. It was put into effect on March 1, 2000. There were many important changes made to the Data Protection Act in 1989.

After the revision, the Data Protection Act stated that basically any living individual who could be identified by any information the organization had obtained and had possession of was protected. This included of course the individual's name, address, phone number, last address, images, etc. This information could not be misused.

There is another form of personal information that is covered by the Data Protection Act. That information is called sensitive personal data. This information is of a different nature. It consists of data regarding sexual orientation, religious beliefs, political affiliations, any trade union the individual may belong to, and any physical or mental health issues. These sensitive issues of personal data have more guidelines protecting them. In order to use these pieces of data, the organization would have to follow other sections of the Act.

The purpose of having the Data Protection Act is holding organizations responsible for the use of the personal information they use. It states the organizations must allow any individual to find out what information is on computer systems and sometimes manual records. It governs the collection, storage and use of the personal data.

The individual has certain rights involving their information. They have the right to access their own personal data. They are allowed to object to certain processing of personal data that would cause them damage or distress in any way. Individuals may also object to any direct marketing and have the right to object to any automated decision taking.

In order for an individual to obtain access to any of these records, an organization may request a fee. They may also ask that an individual send a written request for the information and to verify their identity. It may seem that the organization is working against the individual on this matter, however it is for the benefit of the individual this happens

The purpose of these rules and regulations are to protect individuals. There are certain regulations and principles stated in the Data Protection Act. There are actually eight principles. They are as followed:

1. FAIRLY AND LAWFULLY PROCESSED 2. PROCESSED FOR LIMITED PURPOSES 3. ADEQUATE, RELEVANT AND NOT EXCESSIVE 4. ACCURATE 5. NOT KEPT FOR LONGER THAN IS NECESSARY 6. PROCESSED IN LINE WITH YOUR RIGHTS 7. SECURE 8. NOT TRANSFERRED TO COUNTRIES WITHOUT ADEQUATE PROTECTION

These eight principles and many other sections give the Data Protection Act its' main features. The purpose of protection the individual in this day and age is a very important thing. When the whole world may obtain access to personal information at a click of a mouse, we should be thankful the Data Protection Act exists!!!