What is the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998?
The purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 (“the Act”) is to give individuals rights over their personal data and to protect individuals from the erroneous use their personal data. The Act also requires anyone who handles an individual’s personal data to comply with a number of important principles and legal obligations. The Act gives rights to living individuals about whom information is recorded. They are entitled, upon making an access request, to be supplied with a copy of any information held about them. They also have the right to challenge the processing of their personal data (if appropriate) and to claim compensation if they suffer loss or damage because of inaccurate information or inappropriate disclosures. The Act obliges those who record and use personal data to be open about their use of the information they hold. They must register this use with the Information Commissioner and comply with certain practices that are laid down in the form of principles.
