Floppyshop 2/Floppyshop - 2.zip/Floppyshop - 2.iso/diskmags/4671-5.790/dmg-4674/news.txt/dataprot.asc

Text File | 1993-11-09 | 6KB | 107 lines

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                      ∙  ARE YOU A DATA CRIMINAL?  ∙
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                      ∙        by Don Bray         ∙
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In  Guideline 1 to the Data Protection act it says "Data users are  People
or Organisations  who  control the contents and  use of  a  collection  of
personal data"  It also says "Data users...who should  have registered but
have not have committed a criminal offence."

Hopefully this doesn't include you!

It  might  be  just as well to know where to find out  for  certain  about
these  things.  You  won't  find  out in an article  short  enough  to  be
included  in  this  newsletter but perhaps I can point you  in  the  right
direction.  To relieve your mind slightly: Guideline 1 is the introduction
to  the  act and it says (amongst other things)  "The  Act.....  does  not
cover.....  paper files" and ".....does not cover personal data held by an
individual  (e.g.  a  home  computer user) in  connection  with  personal,
family or household affairs....." but it does affect a club or society  as
well as business organisations.

The  whole  object of the act is to protect individuals  from  people  who
might spread false information about them - accidentally or maliciously  -
by  recording misinformation about them on a computer and  circulating  it
to  others in a mailing list or something like that.  The person  to  whom
information on a computer refers is known as a 'Data Subject' and as  such
is  given new rights under the act.  This includes the right to know  what
is said about them on a computer file  - Which seems only  reasonable.  To
do  this  it is necessary to know who has a record about you and  what  it
says.   If  the act or something like it had not been passed this  country
would  not  have been able to ratify the Council of Europe  Convention  on
Data  Protection.  This  could well have resulted  in  European  Countries
being  unwilling to allow data to flow from them to us and  business  with
mainland  Europe would have been even more difficult than it is and  firms
in this country might well take their factories and offices elsewhere.

Someone  needs  to  keep  a register of people and  firms  who  keep  such
records  and  the person given the task is (you've guessed  it)  The  Data
Protection  Registrar.  His brief is to set up such a  register,  to  make
sure  that  people comply with the Data Protection Principles  defined  in
the  act,  encourage  the development of good Codes of  Practice  to  help
people  and companies to comply and to consider complaints  against  those
who don't.

The Registrar's other job is to 'Spread information about the act and  how
it works' so,  in closing,  here is how to get a lot more information  for
yourself.  All or any of the guidelines referred to are available free  of
charge (well they were when I got mine last autumn) from:

                 Office of the Data Protection Registrar
         Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Alternatively literature may be ordered by telephone on: [phone].

These  guidelines  have been edited by Plain English Campaign  and  in  my
opinion they have done a first rate job.  I found them positively easy  to
understand.


They are:-
             1       Introduction to the Act
             2       The Definitions
             3       The Register and Registration
             4       The Data Protection Principles
             5       Individual Rights
             6       The Exemptions
             7       Enforcement and Appeals
             8       Summary for Computer Bureaux


Alternatively  the Registrar issues Guidance Notes which are  shorter  and
deal  with specific issues in more detail.   You may not know the  answers
but you now know a Registrar who does.



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Thanks  for the info,  Don,  but the Data Protection Act suffers from  the
same  problems  as Health and Safety at Work legislation and  the  Factory
Inspectorate;  the law can say whatever it wants to, but if you don't have
enough staff or resources,  then how can you enforce it?   And the  reason
it's  like  that is because of 15 years of  government  cuts.   But  don't
forget, we're getting a better and more cost-effective service.

You can request details of any file containing information about  yourself
(provided  it  isn't Classified or restricted under the  Official  Secrets
Act),  but  organisations can make 'a small charge' for supplying  it.   I
seem to remember that it's £10 a time,  and that,  say,  asking to see any
records that the police may hold about you could cost you £30 -  £40,  and
you still wouldn't get to see any misinformation,  malicious tip-offs,  or
rumours that they'd collated at any time.   That's 'classified',  and  not
available to the public.  It reminds me of the old anarchist saying,  that
"If voting changed anything it'd be made illegal."
                                                             JFW


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