The right to know
- Created by: hayden Francis
- Created on: 19-05-14 10:18
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- The right to know
- Data Protection Act 1998
- Why might you request information held about you?
- Doctor in order to check that it is correct
- Implications
- The lose or misuse of personal data can lead to prosecution under law
- Exemptions
- Not be possible to request information held about another individual as this would be a breach of the DPA itself.
- Aims of the DPA
- Allow access to a person's information if they request it
- To protect the information held on an individual
- Case study
- Hertfordshire County Council was fined £100,000 by the information Commissioner after employees accidentally sent two faxes containing private information to the wrong recipients on two separate occasions
- Why might you request information held about you?
- Freedom of information act 2000
- Why and how might you wish to request information
- Authority may request more information in order to clarify the request
- May cost a fee
- Authority must respond within twenty days
- Application must be made to the relevant department in writing
- Implications
- Citizens can contact the information Commissioner and ask them to investigate the decision
- Exemptions
- Request is vexatious
- Request would cost too many man hours or too much money to supply the information
- Information requested is legally privileged
- Information is too sensitive in terms of national security or relations with other countries
- Request concerns personal information or commercial confidence
- Request is unnecessary as the information will be, or is, already published
- Aims of the FOIA?
- ensure that citizens can ask public authorities if they hold any information on a particular subject
- Case study
- At least 994 currently serving police officers and police community support officers have a criminal record
- Advantages/ disadvantages
- disadvantages
- Can waste time and money
- Take up a large volume of civil servants time
- Money could be better spent on public services
- Exploiting exemptions to avoid disclosing information
- Advantages
- Easy access to information that may have been hidden by government
- Increases the scope of freedom of the press
- Greater transparency on government decisions
- Relative low costs compared to other departments
- disadvantages
- Why and how might you wish to request information
- Data Protection Act 1998
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