Gail Waters wrote
> I think I am right that the '98 Act applies to individuals
> wherever they are if the controller is in the UK (& we should
> obtain consent from students we have in Africa if data relating to
> them is transferred to a partner there).Some find it odd that our
> legislation protects individuals worldwide but it appears this is
> the case. Do you agree? Gail Waters
>
I think your understanding is correct. The key thing is that the
Act, as stated in its opening paragraph, is "for the regulation of
the processing of information relating to individuals...." so it is
the processing that is being regulated regardless of where the
individual is. Unless this was the case one could have a situation
of inequality where individuals in the UK had their data
processed fairly while those elsewhere did not. As the Act has
its basis in human rights it would clearly be inconsistent to treat
people in different parts of the world in different ways and that is
what lies behind the eighth principle.
It could be argued that we are rightly or wrongly inflicting our
European views on the rest of the world but that is another
issue.
John Hitches
John Hitches
Information Security Officer
and Data Protection Officer
Kingston University
Telephone 020 8547 7768
The views expressed are those of the individual and
not necessarily those of the university
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