Ethics Flashcards
What is The Data Protection Act (1998)?
When computers first became widespread the government grew concerned that people’s personal data could be misused. This act attempts to keep people’s data safe. Note it includes computerised data only.
If an organisation stores data about customers they need to apply for licensing from the Information Commissioner and follow the 8 principal of the Act
What are the 8 Data Protection Principles?
Data must be collected and used fairly and inside the law.
Data must only be held and used for the reasons given to the Information Commissioner.
Data can only be used for those registered purposes and only be disclosed to those people mentioned in the register entry. You cannot give it away or sell it unless you said you would to begin with.
The data held must be adequate, relevant and not excessive when compared with the purpose stated in the register. So you must have enough detail but not too much for the job that you are doing with the data.
Data must be accurate and be kept up to date. There is a duty to keep it up to date, for example to change an address when people move.
Data must not be kept longer than is necessary for the registered purpose. It is alright to keep information for certain lengths of time but not indefinitely. This rule means that it would be wrong to keep information about past customers longer than a few years at most.
The data must be kept safe and secure. This includes keeping the information backed up and away from any unauthorised access. It would be wrong to leave personal data open to be viewed by just anyone.
The files may not be transferred outside of the European Economic Area (that’s the EU plus some small European countries) unless the country that the data is being sent to has a suitable data protection law. This part of the DPA has led to some countries passing similar laws to allow computer data centres to be located in their area.
What is The Computer Misuse Act (1990)?
This law means that the following actions are illegal:
Unauthorised access to computer material (hacking)
Unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate a crime (hacking with intent)
Unauthorised modification of computer material. (hacking where you change data)
Making, supplying or obtaining anything which can be used in computer misuse offences (making and distributing any kind of malware)
Being found guilty of one of these offences can land you up to five years in prison and an unlimited fine.
What is The Copyright Design and Patents Act (1988)?
Everyone should have the right to be paid for the work they have done and this includes making products like books, music, TV shows, films and any other intellectual property.
The Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988 means it is illegal to copy somebody else’s work without their permission. So, for example, copying a film from a friend is illegal, downloading music without paying is illegal and so on.
Modern technologies have meant that breaches of this law have been rife in recent times and have had serious negative effects on the music and film industries.
Breaking this law can land you up to 10 years in prison and up to a £50,000 fine.
What is The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (2000)?
This Act states what powers law enforcement organisations have when attempting to deal with threats.
It is very controversial as it gives them the power to “snoop” on citizens and many believe that we now live is a society of “extreme surveillance” with little or no privacy.
