Personal data within the meaning of the Data Protection Act
What is personal data?
Personal data is any information that can be used to identify an individual, such as:
name
ID number
image
location data
or other things that can be linked to an individual. Information must be sufficiently accurate to make it possible to understand who they belong to.
All information related to an individual and which can be used to identify him or her is subject to data protection laws.
Information structure
A set of information that together leads to information that is only relevant for a particular individual may be personal data.
Sensitive Personal Data (special category data)
There is a stronger legal protection for sensitive personal data, such as:
race and ethnicity
political, religious and life views
membership of a trade union
health information
information about sex or sexual orientation
genetic information
biometric data, such as facial features or fingerprints when used for identification purposes
In principle, the processing of sensitive personal data is prohibited, but there are some exceptions.
Information of a sensitive nature
Some information is sensitive, although it does not fall within the definition of sensitive information in the Data Protection Act, such as:
social status
financial situation
marital status
child protection
Information on criminal conduct
Information on criminal behaviour of individuals is not considered sensitive personal data. However, there are special security measures regarding the processing of such information.