Confidentiality ...continued

THE DATA PROTECTION ACT

Seeing that some organisations legitimately hold confidential information (personal data) on their files, eg. hospitals, banks, credit card companies etc. it has become necessary to safeguard that information from falling into a third party's hands, so in 1981 the Council of Europe Convention drew up the Data Protection Act which was endorsed by the British Government. It contains the following eight articles:-

   1. The information to be contained in personal data shall be obtained, and personal data shall be processed, fairly and lawfully.

   2. Personal data shall be held only for one or more specified and lawful purposes.

   3. Personal data held for any purpose or purposes shall not be used or disclosed in any manner incompatible with that purpose or those purposes.

   4. Personal data held for any purpose or purposes shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to that purpose or purposes.

   5. Personal data shall be accurate, and where necessary, be kept up-to-date.

   6. Personal data held for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept longer than is necessary for that purpose or purposes.

   7. An individual shall be entitled:

         a) At reasonable intervals and without undue delay or expense:

            i. to be informed by any data user whether he holds personal data of which that individual is                subject, and,

            ii. to access any such data held by a data user, and,

         b) Where appropriate, to have such data corrected or erased.

   8. The duty of Data Bureaux: Appropriate security measures shall be taken against unauthorised access to, or alteration, disclosure or destruction of, personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of personal data.