* Electronic copy only (pdf)

Civil and criminal liabilities for failure to comply with the Data Protection Act 1984, and the effect of the Registrar's supervisory powers.

Objectives:

• To enable users and processors of personal information to decide whether they are required to register under the Data Protection Act 1984 (the Act), either as data users or as computer bureaux or as both
• To indicate those provisions of the Act which are most frequently breached, and which have given rise to prosecutions for offences under the Act
• To indicate the risks of incurring liability to pay compensation to individuals whose rights under the Act have been infringed
• To explain in outline the Registrar's regulatory powers
• To suggest some basic precautions against inadvertent breaching of the Act, and so to reduce the risks of prosecution and claims for compensation

*This Legal Guidance Note is only available as a pdf, which will be sent as an email attachment.