ABSTRACT
The Data Protection Act 1998 (the Act) gives individuals a number of rights in relation
to personal information relating to them. The best known is the right of access to
personal information. This right was established under the 1984 Act and most people
are familiar with it. Other rights have been created under the 1998 Act. The one that is
exercised with increasing frequency is the right to prevent processing for purposes of
direct marketing. One of the responsibilities of the Information Commissioner is to
increase public awareness of data protection rights and there have been initiatives to
introduce the subject in schools, so the exercise of subject rights is an area that is likely
to increase in importance.
