Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Legislation - Coggle Diagram
Legislation
Data Protection Act
The Data Protection Act 2018 gives rights to data subjects (people whose personal data is stored on computer systems). The Act has six principles.
The six principles:
- Data should be adequate, relevant and not excessive for the specified use.
- Data must be accurate and kept up to date.
- Data must only be used for the specified purpose.
- Data should not be kept longer than is necessary.
- Data must only be used in a fair way, lawful and transparent way.
- Data should be kept safe and secure.
Before collecting personal data an organisation must register with the government, saying what data they'll collect and how they'll use it.
The Act gives data subjects the right to see, amend and delete the personal data an organisation holds about them.
There are exceptions to this, e.g. if data could affect national security or the outcome of a court case.
Another important part of the Act is accountability. It is the responsibility of the organisation to make sure they follow the rules (if not, they could face large fines).
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
- The Internet has made it harder to protect copyright content due to the ease of file sharing.
- Illegal file sharing can take place over peer-to-peer networks using BitTorrent protocol to share files directly between devices. Cloud based file-hosting websites are also used - copyrighted content is uploaded to the website where anyone with an account can download it.
- The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998 was introduced to protect intellectual property (anything someone has created e.g. a novel, a song, a piece of software, a new invention).
- It's difficult to enforce copyright if content is held on servers in countries with more relaxed copyright laws.
Computer Misuse Act
The Computer Misuse Act 1990 was introduced to stop hacking and cyber crime. It added three new offences:
- Gaining unauthorised access to private networks or devices, e.g. through hacking (just accessing a network could get you a fine or prison sentence).
- Gaining unauthorised access to a network or device in order to commit a crime, like stealing data or destroying the network.
- Unauthorised modification of computer material - e.g. deleting or changing files. The Act also makes it illegal to make, supply or obtain malware.
-