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EUROPEAN UNION DIRECTIVE ON DATA PROTECTION
In October 1998, the
European Directive on Data Protection went into effect. The directive
was introduced to safeguard the processing of personal data within the member
States of the European Union (EU).
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The objectives of the directive as stated by the EU are:
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Member States shall protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural
persons, and in particular their right to privacy, with respect to the
processing of personal data.
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Member States shall neither restrict nor prohibit the free flow of data for the
reasons of establishing and fostering an even closer relationship of the Member
States.
Member States of the EU have to adopt the directive in the
pursuant of national laws regarding the processing personal data. The member
States should also ensure the quality of the data by ensuing that it is
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Processed fairly and lawfully.
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Collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes.
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Accurate and when necessary kept up to date.
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Kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects fro no longer that
is necessary for the purposes for which the data were collected or for which
they are further processed.
A data subject right
of access to data and the information to be given are also stipulated in the
directive. Since coming into effect, the directive has prohibited the transfer
of personal data to non-European Union States that do not meet the European
“adequacy” standard for privacy.
View the final EU Data Protection Directive
here.
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