Legilisation

Legilisation

The Data Protection Act
1. Passed to protect individuals from organisations.
2. Rights
  1. Right to subject access
    1. You are allowed to see what information is being held on you by a company, but a request has to be made and an adminstrative charge must be paid.
  2. Right to prevent processing likely to cause damage or distress
    1. You can ask a compnay to stop processing data if its going to cause damage, if not high enough then the courts decide.
  3. Rights in relation to automated decision making
    1. Some descisions are taken by the computer and you can request a person to do this.
    2. Credit card checks
  4. Right to prevent processing for the purposes of direct marketing
    1. Direct marketing(mail advertising products) can be requested to stop.
  5. Right to compensation if damage and distress is suffered by the Act being contravened
    1. If theres prove that the Data controller didnt follow requirements and caused stress then you are entitled to compensation.
  6. Right to rectify, block or erase incorrect data
    1. If data being held is wrong then it can be changed.
3. Eight Principles
  1. Personal data should be obtained and processed fairly and lawfully
  2. Personal data can be held only for specified and lawful purposes
  3. Personal data should be adequate, relevant and not excessive for the required purpose
  4. Personal data should be accurate and kept up-to-date
  5. Data must be processed in accordance with the rights of the data subject
  6. Appropriate security measures must be taken against unauthorised access
  7. Personal data cannot be transferred to countries outside the E. U. unless the country has similar legislation to the D.P.A.
  8. Personal data should not be kept for longer than is necessary
Computer Misuse Act
1. Offence
  1. Unauthorised access to computer material
    1. Up to six months in prison and/or maximum fine of £5000(Level 1).
  2. Unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate a crime
    1. Up to a five year prison sentence and /or a unlimited fine(level 2/3).
  3. Unauthorised modification of computer material
    1. Up to a five year prison sentence and /or a unlimited fine(Level 2/3).
  4. Making, supplying or obtaining material that could be used in computer misuse offences
    1. Up to a five year prison sentence and /or an unlimited fine(level 2/3).
2. Problems
  1. Actually proving that there was intent when the offence took place
    1. Many people plead ignorance saying that they weren't aware what they were doing was illegal or that they didn't realise they were in possession of a virus.
  2. Tracing who was actually responsible for the offence.
    1. Many people put the blame on others saying that it wasn't them logged on and that someone must have gotten hold of their password and user name.
  3. By the time the offender is actually caught, the damage to the company system has already been done.
3. 1.Unauthorised access to computer material. 2.Unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate a crime. 3.Unauthorised modification of computer material. 4.Making, supplying or obtaining anything which can be used in computer misuse offences.
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1. This Act was introduced to protect the investment of time, money and effort by the people who create original pieces of work.
  1. 1. To ensure people are rewarded for their endeavours. 2. To give protection to the copyright holder if someone tries to copy or steal their work.
2. Copying software
3. Copying or downloading music
4. Copying images or photographs from the web
5. Copying text from webpages and using it in your work or posting it onto your website and pretending it is your own work.
6. SIngle User License
  1. The software can be loaded onto just one machine. Only one person can use the software at a time. However, if that person stops using the machine then someone else can log on and use the software.
7. Multi User License
  1. Bought for a certain number of users e.g. 20. So at any one time, up to 20 people on the network can use the software.
8. Site License
  1. Allows everyone on that site or in an office to use the software. It can be loaded onto every machine and anyone on the site can use it. Sometimes a site licence covers loading the software onto staff laptops so that they can use it whilst on the move. It might even cover staff to have a copy of the software at home, but that is dependent on the terms of the site licence.
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act
1. Provides a legal framework for organisations such as the security services and the police to carry out surveillance and to access electronic, postal and digital communications on individuals.
  1. Makes it a crime for anyone who is not authorised under the Act to carry out surveillance and monitoring of communications.
    1. Prevent or detect crimes.
    2. Prevent public disorder from occurring.
    3. To ensure national security and the safety of the general public
    4. To investigate or detect any abnormal or illegal use of telecommunication systems.
  2. An individual or company may have encrypted files to keep them secure.
    1. The act can be used to force the individual to surrender the encryption keys (digital numbers which allow users to decipher encoded data) or to present the data in a readable format.
      1. If they refuse they can face up to two years in prison.
2. Some organisations regularly monitor what their employees are doing on the internet whilst at work. They can see which sites they use, who they send emails to and who they receive emails from.
  1. This helps them to ensure that staff time is being used effectively and that work equipment is being used for approved purposes.
    1. Many employees view this monitoring as a breach of trust and an invasion of their privacy.
  2. Councils in the UK have conducted undercover operations regulated by RIPA against dog fouling and fly-tipping.
Electronic Communications Act
1. Safety and security in transactions online
2. Regulates the provision of cryptographic services in the UK
3. Benefits
  1. Businesses and individuals engaging in e-commerce can feel secure that their transactions are safe and secure.
  2. Businesses and individuals can feel secure that documents or contracts signed with an electronic signature are as legally binding as those signed by hand.
  3. Businesses can reduce the amount of paper and postage costs along with reducing the carbon emissions it takes to deliver them.
4. Problems
  1. Many people still distrust the security of digital signatures and may prefer to use the traditional methods of signing contracts.
  2. Areas such as conveyancing (buying a house) and writing a will are viewed by the public to be so important that it is unlikely that digital signatures will be introduced for quite a long time.
  3. Even though this Act means that digital signatures have been legally binding for many years, most people have never heard of them or are still suspicious about their use. It is likely to take many years before their use becomes acceptable and commonplace.
Freedom of Information
1. Gives individuals and organisations the right to request official information held by over 100,000 public bodies.
  1. information can include things such as e-mails, minutes of meetings, research or reports.
    1. Central government
    2. Government departments
    3. Local authorities
2. Anyone can send a request to send information.
  1. You are not obliged to explain why you want the information and they are not allowed to ask.
    1. The public authority must say whether it holds the information, and if it does, it must provide it within 20 working days.
3. Public authorities can refuse to supply or even confirm if they hold the information.
  1. An exemption applies e.g. because it affects national security or perhaps because it might be personal data and be protected under the Data Protection Act or perhaps it might result in a breach of confidence.
  2. The request is vexatious (it is designed to cause disruption or annoyance).
  3. A similar request has been made in the past.
  4. The cost of supplying the information exceeds an appropriate limit.
  5. If a public authority decides not to disclose the information requested then it must give reasons for its decision.
    1. If the applicant is unhappy with a refusal to disclose information they can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
4. Benefits
  1. If people have an interest in a particular area they are able to request information that was not previously available to the public.
  2. News reporters are able to gather in depth and accurate information about a story that they might be investigating. They often identify issues in the news that we would previously have had no idea about.
5. Problems
  1. There can be a large cost to public bodies. Staff have to be paid to respond to requests from the public and to find the requested information.
  2. Many requests under the FOI Act are made simply out of curiosity or to cause an annoyance. This causes an increased workload on public organisations and the extra financial implications discussed above.

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	Created by Miles Thirnwell almost 8 years ago