2.6 Data Protection & Distance Selling

Any company which stores personal data has to conform to the rules of the Data Protection Act. The original Data Protection Act, which became law in 1984, was upgraded and extended in 1998. The old one covered computer data; however the new one was modified to include some paper-based records and some CCTV systems. Under the 1998 law, companies which hold personal information, such as information gained from transactional websites, have to notify the Information Commissioner, whose job is to enforce the Act and promote good practice in the handling of personal information. The Act defines ‘personal information’ as data about living people who can be identified from that data.
  For an organisation to gain personal information and use this information they have to meet at least one of the conditions in Schedule 2 in the Act. There are a number of these conditions; however for the purpose of transactional websites it could be justified as ‘necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party’. 
  Organisations which hold and use personal information have to adhere to the eight principals of the Act, which are;
Personal data must be:
1.Processed fairly and lawfully
2. Processed only for one or more specified and lawful purpose
3.Adequate, relevant and not excessive for the purpose
4.Accurate and kept up to date
5.Kept for no longer than necessary for the purpose it is being processed
6.Processed in accordance with the rights of the individual
7. Protected against accidental loss, destruction, damage or unauthorised and unlawful processing
8. Not transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area that does not have adequate protection for personal data

If the organisation fails to comply to any of these regulations, the Information Commissioner has the power to take action against the organisation to force it to comply. The commissioner is also able to bring about legal action against an organisation if he/she is sure an offence under the Act has been committed.

Distance Selling – When buying from a shop you are able to look at the item, the quality and what it looks like, even being able to return if it doesn’t live up to the expectations. This is the opposite when buying on the internet; you are only able to judge from the picture of the item and the description given. The regulations require that the seller gives adequate information to the consumer prior to the sale, and also provide an after sales ‘cooling off’ period, which the customer is able to return their item. The regulations also offer a framework for the cancellation of credit and the return of goods after the cancellation of the sale.