ICT and the Law You need to know about 3 laws covering the use and misuse of ICT

You need to know about: The Data Protection Act The Copyright Act The Computer Misuse Act

The principles of Data Protection Everyone has the ‘right to privacy’ (i.e. no one wants to have their personal details - medical, financial, educational, political - available to anyone). Because computerised databases often hold such data about people, they have to be protected from misuse.

What is personal data? Personal data covers both facts and opinions about the individual. It also includes information regarding the intentions of the data controller towards the individual, although in some limited circumstances exemptions will apply. With processing, the definition is far wider than before. For example, it incorporates the concepts of 'obtaining', holding' and 'disclosing'.

What is sensitive personal data? Sensitive personal data may not – in normal circumstances – be disclosed. It includes: – Information about a subject’s racial or ethnic origins. – Information about a subject’s religious or political beliefs. – Information about a subject’s physical or mental health. – Information about a subject’s criminal record or allegations of criminal activity.

The eight Principles of Data Protection – Data must be: 1.Fairly and lawfully processed. 2.Processed for limited purposes. 3.Adequate, relevant and not excessive. 4.Accurate. 5.Not kept longer than necessary. 6.Processed in accordance with the data subject's rights. 7.Secure. 8.Not transferred to countries without adequate protection.

The Data Protection Act The eight principles are enforced in the UK by Act of Parliament. This is the DATA PROTECTION ACT (1998). They also form part of the FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (2000). The person in charge of making sure that both Acts are enforced is the INFORMATION REGISTRAR (formerly the DATA PROTECTION REGISTRAR).

A person’s rights under the Data Protection Act Everyone has the right to see any personal details held on a computer or paper-based data system. Everyone also has the right to see a description of the data that is held about them. Everyone also has the right to know why data is about them is held. A person can request a copy of this information.

A person’s rights under the Data Protection Act There are exceptions to this. These include: – Information that can prevent or help detect a crime. – Information that can be used to catch or prosecute offenders. – Information relating to the collection of taxes and duties (e.g. Income Tax, VAT). – Certain medical or social workers reports.

What to do now Log into Moodle>ICT>GCSE>Unit 1>Home Networks>Data Protection Act questions Answer and print You will need to use this link: ict.com/gcse_new/legal/dpa/miniweb/

Software piracy One of the most lucrative examples of computer crime is software piracy. This is the illegal copying of computer programs, and it is very widespread. It is estimated that over 66% of the computer software used in Europe is illegal.

Copyright, Design and Patents Act Aims to protect the creators of original pieces work including authors of books, film makers, composers and music artists, computer game designer, software designers. Gives them exclusive rights regarding that work for a certain period time. This includes the publication, distribution and adaptation of the work.

Why was it brought it? It ensures people are rewarded for their work eg artists receive payment for legal downloads which they would not if music/films etc were illegally downloaded or copied It protects them if someone steals or copies their work and gives them a legal case against the theft Allows prosecution to take place

What does it cover? Copying or downloading music Copying images or photographs Copying computer games Copying text from web pages and using it in your own work You should acknowledge your sources and credit the owner/creator! Changing something doesn’t make it your own! Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1989)

Software crime The Copyright Act makes it a criminal offence to copy or steal software. This includes: – Copying or distributing software or manuals without the permission of the copyright owner (usually the software developer). – Using purchased software covered by copyright on more than one computer unless this is permitted by the software licence. – Encouraging or allowing people to copy or distribute illegal copies of software

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (1989) A person guilty of an offence under this act may be sent to prison for up to ten years and be fined!

Creative Commons License The Creative Commons copyright licenses have been developed to balance the “all rights reserved” copyright law. They allow everyone from individual creators to large companies and institutions a way to grant copyright permissions to their creative work to other people such as you and me without infringing the copyright law. There are different levels of license depending on what the creator is willing to allow you to do. For example: If you see this symbol: This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licenses offered.

Computer Misuse Act (1990) Before 1990, there was no legislation to deal with the problem of hacking into a computer system, but with the increase in this problem and the need to deal with hackers, the Computer Misuse Act was passed in This act deals with: – Unauthorised access to a computer/computer material – Deliberately infecting a computer system with a virus/Trojan. – Using a computer to commit software piracy. – Using a computer to hack into another computer. – Using a computer to commit a fraud.

Penalties and problems A lot of people claim they “did not mean to” when they are accused of hacking and it is difficult to prove intent which makes prosecution difficult. Penalties range from up to 6 months to up to 5 years in prison, and up to an unlimited fine.

What to do now For the next 2 lessons: Produce a fact sheet/presentation/document of your own choice about the Copyright Act and Computer Misuse Act. Could cover both in the same document or do separately. Explain the Creative Commons License agreemnt Print when finished so you can revise from it. Final lesson on the Law an ICT (all on Moodle) Starter: Decide which law applies to each scenario Test Yourself ICT and Legal Issues Questions

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