World Wide Web
With the growth of the Internet vastly more information is now readily available than ever before. A significant amount is personal data and it is essential for organisations that use the Web to be careful how they collect and use it. Beware. It is much easier to breach the Act than may be generally imagined!
Internet and related technology provides many ways of collecting information from a computer user. Some of these may be in subtle background mode, of which an average user could be completely unaware.
Harvesting data about or from individuals by stealth breaches the fairness principal, even if it is without malign intent. Data gatherers must be explicit and up front when collecting data. They must precisely define the purpose for which the data is being collected and with whom it may be shared.
Those who trawl for data across the Web will encounter another problem themselves and may produce even more problems for others. For example, when coming across personal information, a data gatherer may not know the terms under which that data was originally collected, or what usage was approved by the individual concerned. Mere holding of such data could be illegal - both for those who access it as well as those who placed it on the Web. The latter could be in breach of the Act in respect of a failure in their duty of care to ensure that the data is secure from unauthorised access.