PDP9 BCS Practitioner Certificate in Data Protection Questions and Answers

Data protection rights were first introduced into UK law by the Data Protection Act 1984, which was enacted to implement the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data of 1981. The Data Protection Act 1984 established a set of principles for the processing of personal data by data users, such as obtaining consent, ensuring accuracy, and limiting retention. It also created a system of registration for data users and a Data Protection Registrar (later renamed as the Information Commissioner) to oversee and enforce the law. The Data Protection Act 1984 was replaced by the Data Protection Act 1998, which transposed the EU Data Protection Directive 1995 into UK law and extended the scope of data protection to cover manual as well as automated processing of personal data. The Data Protection Act 1998 was further amended by the Data Protection Act 2018, which incorporated the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Law Enforcement Directive into UK law and made provisions for specific processing situations, such as national security, immigration, and journalism.  References :

Data Protection Act 1984 4

Council of Europe Convention 108 5

Data Protection Act 1998 6

Data Protection Act 2018 7

Article 28(2) of UK GDPR states that where a processor engages another processor (“sub-processor”) for carrying out specific processing activities on behalf of the controller, the same data protection obligations as set out in the contract or other legal act between the controller and the processor shall be imposed on that other processor by way of a contract or other legal act under domestic law, in particular providing sufficient guarantees to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures in such a manner that the processing will meet the requirements of UK GDPR. The processor shall not engage another processor without prior specific or general written authorisation of the controller. In the case of general written authorisation, the processor shall inform the controller of any intended changes concerning the addition or replacement of other processors, thereby giving the controller the opportunity to object to such changes. The other options are incorrect, as they do not reflect the requirements of UK GDPR for using a sub-processor. The processor cannot use a sub-processor without the written authorisation of the controller, regardless of whether it adheres to an approved code of conduct, signs a contract with the same obligations as the controller, or deems the processing to be low risk.  References :

Article 28(2) of UK GDPR 1

ICO guidance on contracts and liabilities between controllers and processors 3

Data sharing is the disclosure of personal data from one or more organisations to a third party organisation or organisations, or the sharing of personal data within an organisation. Data sharing practices are governed by data protection law, which includes the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018). The DPA 2018 contains specific provisions on data sharing, such as the power of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to issue a statutory Code of Practice on data sharing.  The ICO has published a Data Sharing Code of Practice 1  that provides practical guidance on how to share data in a fair, safe and transparent way, in compliance with the data protection principles and the rights of data subjects. The code is not legally binding, but it reflects the ICO’s interpretation of the law and it may be used as evidence in legal proceedings or investigations. The code also contains useful tools, case studies and examples that can help organisations to share data effectively and responsibly.  References :

Data Sharing Code of Practice 1

The crime and taxation exemption in Schedule 2, Part 1, Paragraph 2 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) provides an exemption from the UK GDPR’s transparency obligations and most individual rights, including the right of access, but only if complying with them would prejudice the prevention or detection of crime, or the apprehension or prosecution of offenders. This means that the public authority does not need to disclose details of the investigation to the individual who submitted the subject access request, as doing so would be likely to hinder the investigation and enable the individual to evade justice. The public authority should assess the likelihood of prejudice on a case-by-case basis and document its reasons for relying on the exemption. The other options are incorrect because:

The legal and professional privilege exemption in Schedule 2, Part 1, Paragraph 19 of the DPA 2018 applies to personal data that is subject to an obligation of confidentiality arising from the provision of legal advice or legal representation, or from the conduct of legal proceedings. This exemption does not apply to the information held by the public authority about the investigation, as it is not related to any legal advice or representation, or any legal proceedings.

The term “criminal offence data” refers to personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences, or related security measures. This type of data is subject to specific rules under Article 10 of the UK GDPR and Part 3 of the DPA 2018. However, this does not mean that there is no obligation to disclose criminal offence data in response to a subject access request. The public authority still needs to consider whether any of the exemptions in the DPA 2018 apply, such as the crime and taxation exemption, before disclosing or withholding the data.

The right to be informed does apply in relation to criminal acts, as the UK GDPR requires controllers to provide data subjects with information about the processing of their personal data, including the purposes and legal basis of the processing, unless an exemption applies. The fact that the information has not yet been passed to the police does not affect the applicability of the right to be informed or the right of access.  References :

Data Protection Act 2018, Schedule 2, Part 1, Paragraph 2 1

ICO Guide to Data Protection, Crime and Taxation 2

Data Protection Act 2018, Schedule 2, Part 1, Paragraph 19 3

UK GDPR, Article 10 4

Data Protection Act 2018, Part 3 5

UK GDPR, Article 13 and 14 6

 Independent supervisory authorities are public authorities that supervise, through investigative and corrective powers, the application of the data protection law. They provide expert advice on data protection issues and handle complaints lodged against violations of the UK GDPR and the relevant national laws. The UK GDPR sets out the key requirements for independent supervisory authorities in Chapter VI, which include the following:

They must operate independently and remain free from external influence, whether direct or indirect, and must neither seek nor take instructions from anybody.

They must have adequate human, technical and financial resources to perform their tasks and exercise their powers effectively.

They must review data protection impact assessments in cases of unmitigated high risk and provide prior consultation to controllers on such processing operations.

They must provide each other with mutual assistance and cooperate with each other and the European Data Protection Board to ensure the consistent application of the UK GDPR across the EU.

They must handle complaints lodged by data subjects or by bodies, organisations or associations representing them, and investigate the subject matter of the complaint to the extent appropriate.

They must adopt binding decisions on matters concerning the application of the UK GDPR and impose effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative fines for infringements of the UK GDPR.

The UK GDPR does not specify any fixed term for the leadership of independent supervisory authorities, nor does it require their leadership to change every four years. However, it does require that the members of the supervisory authority must be appointed by means of a transparent procedure by the parliament, the government or the head of state of the Member State concerned, and that they must act with integrity, refrain from any action incompatible with their duties and not engage in any incompatible occupation during and after their term of office. The UK GDPR also allows Member States to provide for rules regarding the establishment, appointment, duration of the term and dismissal of the head or members of the supervisory authority.  References :

UK GDPR, Chapter VI 7

ICO website, About the ICO 8

If a complainant disagrees with the decision of the UK’s supervisory authority, which is the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), they have the right to appeal to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). The tribunal is an independent body that can review the ICO’s decision and either uphold it, vary it or cancel it. The tribunal can also direct the ICO to take certain actions, such as issuing a decision notice or an enforcement notice. The appeal must be lodged within 28 days of receiving the ICO’s decision, using the notice of appeal form and providing the relevant documents and grounds for appeal. The tribunal will then notify the ICO and the complainant of the appeal and the procedure for dealing with it. The tribunal may hold a hearing to examine the evidence and arguments of both parties, or decide the case on the basis of written submissions only. The tribunal will issue a written decision, which will be sent to both parties and published on the tribunal’s website. The tribunal’s decision can be further appealed to the Upper Tribunal on a point of law, with the permission of the First Tier Tribunal or the Upper Tribunal.  References :

Information rights and data protection: appeal against the Information Commissioner 1

Notice of appeal form 2

First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights) website 3

A privacy notice is a document that provides individuals with information about how their personal data is processed, as required by Article 13 and 14 of the UK GDPR 5 . A privacy notice must include the following information, among others:

the identity and contact details of the controller and, where applicable, the controller’s representative and the data protection officer;

the purposes and legal basis of the processing;

the categories of personal data concerned;

the recipients or categories of recipients of the personal data, including any third parties or international organisations;

where applicable, the fact that the controller intends to transfer personal data to a third country or international organisation and the existence or absence of an adequacy decision by the Commission, or reference to the appropriate or suitable safeguards and the means by which to obtain a copy of them or where they have been made available;

the period for which the personal data will be stored, or if that is not possible, the criteria used to determine that period;

the existence of the rights of the data subject, such as the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict, object or port the data, and the conditions or limitations on those rights;

the existence of the right to withdraw consent at any time, where the processing is based on consent;

the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority;

whether the provision of personal data is a statutory or contractual requirement, or a requirement necessary to enter into a contract, as well as whether the data subject is obliged to provide the personal data and of the possible consequences of failure to provide such data;

the existence of automated decision-making, including profiling, and meaningful information about the logic involved, as well as the significance and the envisaged consequences of such processing for the data subject.

A privacy notice does not need to contain details of the processor’s staff, as this is not relevant or necessary for the data subject to understand how their personal data is processed. However, the controller may need to inform the data subject if their personal data is shared with a processor, and provide the identity and contact details of the processor, as part of the information on the recipients or categories of recipients of the personal data.  References :

Article 13 and 14 of the UK GDPR 5

Storage limitation is one of the principles of data protection under the UK GDPR. It means that personal data should not be kept in a form that allows identification of data subjects for longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the data are processed. The UK GDPR does not specify any fixed time limits for different types of data, but rather requires data controllers to determine and justify the appropriate retention periods for their processing activities, taking into account factors such as the nature, scope, context and purposes of the processing, the risks to the rights and freedoms of data subjects, and the legal obligations and expectations of the data controller. Data controllers should also have a policy setting out standard retention periods where possible, and review the data they hold regularly to ensure that it is erased or anonymised when it is no longer needed. Data subjects have the right to request the erasure of their personal data if the data controller no longer has a lawful basis or a legitimate interest for keeping it. The UK GDPR allows for some exceptions to the storage limitation principle, such as when the personal data is processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes, or statistical purposes, subject to appropriate safeguards for the rights and freedoms of data subjects.  References :

UK GDPR, Article 5 (1) (e) and (2) 4

UK GDPR, Article 17 5

UK GDPR, Article 89 6

ICO Guide to Data Protection, Storage Limitation 7

The two businesses are both joint controllers of the information contained in the single order system, because they jointly determine the purposes and means of the processing. They have a shared purpose of selling their products by mail order and they agree on the means of processing by using a single online website and a single order system. Their decisions complement each other and are necessary for the processing to take place. The processing by each party is inseparable and inextricably linked. Therefore, they meet the criteria for joint controllership under the GDPR.  References :

Article 26 of the GDPR 1

Guidelines 07/2020 on the concepts of controller and processor in the GDPR 2 , pp. 16-24