Question Data Controller / Data Protection

[yus786]

Not sure if this has been answered.

I'm doing some work for various clubs and stuff, and in the process of creating their DB - i have some of their Data (names, address, phone number - that's all)

What should i do? At the moment i have emails from them saying it is OK for me to hold their data whilst i create the DB but should i actually register with some organisation to protect myself?

Thanks

 

[JamesMcS]

Not sure... I'd google 'data protection act' to start with and see what that says, assuming you're in the UK of course, and get something in writing from them at the start of the project.

Shame we all have to be so paranoid these days!

 

[yus786]

Not sure... I'd google 'data protection act' to start with and see what that says, assuming you're in the UK of course, and get something in writing from them at the start of the project.

Shame we all have to be so paranoid these days!

Cheers, Yes it is a real shame. I will be looking this up on google but the whole act is HUGE...

Thanks for the advise.

 

[vbaInet]

I think the only protection you can get for yourself is a written consent from the data holders (i.e. the company/companies) giving you permission to use the data for the sole purpose of database development.

It is the responsibility of the company to ensure the safety of their data.

 

[JamesMcS]

You could always just have a dummy table of staff, i.e. staff1, staff2 etc for testing, then when the DB is sent to the customer, they can add their own blurb in to their heart's content, and no presonal data is at risk.

It's quite a can of worms thinking about it - if one of the staff members had their identity stolen, would it be up to them to prove you were the source, or up to you that you weren't? You might even be talking about having insurance against that sort of thing, if someone sued you and you couldn't prove your innocence you might be doing their housework until you retire.....

Best to stick to dummy data I think

 

[yus786]

Thanks all.

Some of the DB creation involves import from excel, so they will have to give me the data.

I'll get something in writing from them like vbaInet has suggested.

Thanks again

 

[JamesMcS]

Good luck, let us know if you find anything out legal-responsibility-wise, always good to know!