The Data Protection Act (DPA) is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which was passed in 1988. It was developed to control how personal or customer information is used by organisations or government bodies. It protects people and lays down rules about how data about people can be used.

Is Data Protection Act 1998 still in force?

Anyone holding personal data for other purposes was legally obliged to comply with this Act, subject to some exemptions. The Act defined eight data protection principles to ensure that information was processed lawfully. It was superseded by the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) on 23 May 2018.

When was the Data Protection Act introduced?

1987. The Data Protection Act came fully into force on 11 November.