Why the DPA was brought in

The 1998 Data Protection Act was passed by Parliament to control the way information is handled and to give legal rights to people who have information stored about them. But why was there a need for this legislation?

The power of the computer

During the second half of the 20th century computers were getting more powerful and easy to use. Companies, government and other organisations began to use them to store large amounts of information about people, such as their customers, clients and staff. Databasesdatabases: A database is a collection of information which can be accessed and ordered quickly and easily. with this information can be quickly set up, searched, edited and accessed and take up less space than paper records.

Personal data on computer

Instead of paper records, computers were also being used routinely to keep personal data about people. This information included:

• names
• addresses
• financial information
• medical records
• criminal records
• employment history

For example, being a member of a sports club would mean that your name, age, medical details and payment record would be stored on a computer file.

Ease of access to the information

The information stored could be far more easily and flexibly used than if it was stored on paper. For example, a database could be searched to find all customers living in a particular area, to target them for "special offer" advertising. Searches of databases like this are much faster with computers and, in particular, information can be matched from one database to another far more than if it is stored on paper. The Database section has more on searching.

Communications networks

Storing information about people on computers which are linked to communications networksnetworks : A number of computers linked together to allow them to share resources. like the InternetInternet : A global network connecting millions of computers. or private company networks has also become important. This allows databases to be used across an organisation and be shared between organisations very quickly.

Misuse of information

With more and more organisations using computers to store and process personal information, there was a danger the information could be misused or could get into the wrong hands.

Concerns

A number of concerns arose about how this information could be used:

• Could it be easily copied?
• Could it be changed with little evidence being left?
• Who could see this information?
• How accurate was the information?
• Was it be possible to build up detailed files on people without their knowledge or permission?

Other European Union countries have passed similar laws as often information is held in more than one country.