7 The Data Protection Act 1998

Terence Bergin

7.1 Introduction

The English law protects an individual from the misuse of personal information about him under statute and common law. The Data Protection Act 1998, which replaces the Data Protection Act 1984, protects personal data whether it is stored in manual or computerized form. The common law of confidence, which protects against the disclosure of ‘confidential’ information, is considered in Chapter 6.

Any person or organization holding personal data about a living individual who can be identified from the information, or from consideration of personal data in conjunction with other information in the possession of the person or organization, is subject to the provisions of the Data Protection ...

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