Civil Rights

With the creation of the internet, many aspects of real life were changed as these aspects were also made possible on the internet. One example of this would be online E-commerce. However, for online services such as E-commerce to work, customers needed to provide their personal details. This then led to many issues such as covert data and the misuse of data. The response to this problem was various laws and acts including the Data Protection Act 1998.

Data Protection Act

The Data Protection Act was based around the civil rights of users online and because of this, the act only concerns personal data and not business data. However, the act doesn't just cover online data but also paper based data*. As part of the civil rights of the users, companies are held responsible for the data of all their customers/users and therefore have to follow eight separate principles of the Data Protection Act:

1. Personal data can only be processed fairly and legally
2. Personal data can only be obtained for legal reasons
3. Personal data must remain adequate and relevant
4. Personal data must always remain accurate according to the user
5. Personal data must not be kept any longer than necessary
6. The user has the right to see their personal data held and also to correct or remove any incorrect data held
7. Personal data must remain secure
8. Personal data must not be transferred outside the country unless adequate protection of that data can be guaranteed

 As well as these principles, companies must also inform an information commissioner about:

1. Any data they wish to store
2. The uses for that data
3. How long the data is to be kept for
4. Who they may pass that data onto

The customer’s civil rights are important to the act as the sixth principle focuses on the civil rights that apply to that customer. In terms of the Data Protection Act, the customer has the right to:

1. View their personal data held by the company
2. Change any incorrect data held
3. Remove their personal data held, if it is causing distress to them
4. Refuse their personal data being given out to direct marketing (junk mailing) companies
5. Inform the Data Protection Commission if the company holding their data has broken one of the principles of the Data Protection Act
6. Claim compensation if the company has been proven to break one of the principles

 However, the principles of the act do not apply in situations such as these:

1. National Security is under threat
2. A police investigation is taking place
3. Examination results are yet to be published by the examining body

Examples of Privacy Issues

Because the Data Protection Act keeps the personal data of customers private, data protection is often associated with privacy. The information age has also seen various issues concerning the privacy of people today.

One example of these issues would be the use of CCTV. While CCTV cameras are very effective at finding crime and offenders, some say that CCTV causes privacy issues. Some would also say that too much CCTV means that people are constantly being ‘watched’ and therefore, they have little or no privacy. However, others would argue that CCTV is necessary for keeping the public safe from crime.

Concerns over privacy issues have been raised since the police have increased the number of CCTV cameras

Another example of privacy issues in the world today would be the uses of number plate recognition. Like the use of CCTV, number plate recognition is also very effective at catching criminals and fining those speeding. However, some would say that number plate recognition also watches drivers constantly and therefore give them no privacy. Some also say that number plate data is passed on for other purposes. Despite this, number plate recognition is also necessary for keeping roads safe.

As a popular website, Twitter has also been associated with privacy issues online. The use of slander and libel on the website are one example of privacy issues concerning Twitter. As Twitter is a microblogging website, it is easy for slander and libel to be effective towards the victim. This is why there have been many slander/libel cases on Twitter with one example being the Love/Simorangkir case.

Websites such as Facebook are also effected by slander and libel

*Before the use of electronic storage such as computers, data was recorded on paper and stored in filing cabinets.