Obtaining Information
By Dr Simon Rice
Group Manager (Technology)
Being
transparent about how you process personal data is a legal requirement under
the Data
Protection Act 1998. The processing of personal data must be fair and
fairness generally requires you to be transparent. If you are asking for an
individual’s consent then providing clear and comprehensive information is also
a fundamental part of ensuring that the consent is valid.
Transparency is
important when individuals have a choice about whether they wish for their
personal data to be processed in a particular manner but also in situations
where that choice may be limited.
The ICO is also
the regulator of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000, the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004 and the Re-use of
Public Sector Information Regulations 2015 each of which require public
sector organisations to make certain information available either proactively
or on request (unless a valid exemption exists).
Whilst these
laws give individuals strong opportunities to obtain information this doesn’t
lessen the need (or legal requirement) for organisations to proactively informand educate about their data processing activities especially when these impact
on the individual’s private life.
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