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ICO: Information Commissioner's Office

The UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.

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Guide to data protection

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Pages

Format

  • About the guide
  • Key definitions
  • Data protection principles
  • Principle 1 – fair and lawful
  • Principle 2 – purposes
  • Principle 3 – adequacy
  • Principle 4 – accuracy
  • Principle 5 – retention
  • Principle 6 – rights
    • Subject access request
    • Damage or distress
    • Preventing direct marketing
    • Automated decision taking
    • Correcting inaccurate personal data
    • Compensation
  • Principle 7 – security
  • Principle 8 – international
  • Conditions for processing
  • Exemptions
  • Complaints
  • Anonymisation
  • Big data
  • CCTV
  • Data sharing
  • Employment
  • Online and apps
  • Privacy by design

About the Guide to data protection

This guide is for those who have day-to-day responsibility for data protection.

It explains the purpose and effect of each principle, gives practical examples and answers frequently asked questions.

It also contains specialist topics including CCTV, employment and data sharing.

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ICO: Information Commissioner's Office

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The UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.

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Open Government Licence

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated.