Fife Council: Bodies must comply with data protection rules

Thu 28 Jan 2010

A local authority has reiterated its commitment to complying with data protection laws in the UK.

According to Fife Council, the emergence of mobile communications and other technological advances has made people's lives easier and faster.

However, the authority said that if an organisation carries sensitive information on rapidly expanding databases, they are obliged to comply with certain regulations.

Fife Council said personal data should only be used for the purpose or purposes for which it was collected, and must be processed fairly and lawfully.

In addition, it stated that the information should be kept safe and secure at all times and not retained for longer than is necessary.

Fife Council was speaking in recognition of this year's Data Privacy Day, a Europe-wide initiative designed to raise awareness about data protection issues.

According to European data protection supervisor Peter Hustinx, societies and institutions are becoming increasingly dependent on the widespread use of information and communication technologies.

This, he said, means it is "essential" that these bodies protect people's "fundamental" rights to privacy and data protection.

James Oxley of Winckworth Sherwood LLP commented: "With the incoming powers of the Information Commissioner to impose fines of up to £500,000 and the courts' ability to impose custodial sentences, complying with the Data Protection Act 1998 has never been so important."