Data Protection Act 1998

The Data Protection Act 1998 (c. 29) (DPA) was an <a href="/facts/Act_of_Parliament_(UK)/apqk8I13">act of Parliament</a> of the <a href="/facts/United_Kingdom/kuPAILt2">United Kingdom</a> designed to protect <a href="/facts/Personal_data/384PbBg5">personal data</a> stored on <a href="/facts/Computer/SQe1aK05">computers</a> or in an organised paper filing system. It enacted provisions from the European Union (EU) <a href="/facts/Data_Protection_Directive_1995/PEeYkQK3">Data Protection Directive 1995</a> on the protection, processing, and movement of data.
Under the 1998 DPA, individuals had legal rights to control information about themselves. Most of the Act did not apply to domestic use, such as keeping a personal address book. Anyone holding personal data for other purposes was legally obliged to comply with this Act, subject to some exemptions. The Act defined eight data protection principles to ensure that information was processed lawfully.
It was superseded by the <a href="/facts/Data_Protection_Act_2018/PjWKsF2e">Data Protection Act 2018</a> (DPA 2018) on 23 May 2018. The DPA 2018 supplements the EU <a href="/facts/General_Data_Protection_Regulation/RMLY6ohr">General Data Protection Regulation</a> (GDPR), which came into effect on 25 May 2018. The GDPR regulates the collection, storage, and use of personal data significantly more strictly.

Data Protection Act 1998 open-in-new

Data Protection Act 1998