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The Data Protection Act Of The United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Northern Ireland

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When a company is either extracting the information they have obtained or using it to optimise their performance there are several legal acts they need ensure they are not breaching by doing so. These are the Data Protection Act 1998, Freedom of the Information Act 2000 and the Computer Misuse act 1990.

Data Protection Act 1998
The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland which defines UK law on the processing of data on identifiable living people. It is the main piece of legislation that governs the protection of personal data in the UK.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_Protection_Act_1998)
(https://www.gov.uk/data-protection/the-data-protection-act)

The Data …show more content…

It provides individuals or organisations with the right to request information held by a public authority. The public authority must tell the applicant whether it holds the information, which it must supply within 20 working days, in the requested format.
This act ensures that:
- No one needs reasoning behind why they are requesting the information; however a reason not to give them the information is required.
- Everybody has the right to access their own official information, however all information should be kept private.

Computer Misuse Act 1990
Anyone who works with electronic data or information is liable to comply with this legislation
- The computer Misuse Act is designed to protect computer users against wilful attacks and theft of information
- Offences under the act include hacking, unauthorised access to computer systems and purposefully spreading malicious and damaging software (malware), such as viruses.
- Unauthorised access to modify computers include altering software and data, changing passwords and settings to prevent others accessing the system, interfering with the normal operation of the system to its detriment.
- The act makes it an offence to access or even attempt to access a computer system without the

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