Legal Updates - Personal Data Code

Data Protection - New Online Personal Information Code of Practice

The code has been issued by the Information Commissioner under section 51 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA).This requires an organisation to promote good practice, including compliance with the DPA’s requirements, and empowers him, after consultation, to prepare codes of practice giving guidance on good practice.

This code sets out clear, comprehensive recommendations for handling personal data properly and for giving individuals the right degree of choice and control over it. It should also help all organisations with an online presence to negotiate areas of legal uncertainty by adopting good practice.

This code is meant to provide good practice advice for all organisations involved in collecting and using personal data online:

• names, email addresses, account numbers
• information indicating individuals’ online activity generated through the use of cookies. The legal implications of collecting these less obvious identifiers can be unclear.

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/pio_consultation_200912.pdf