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Data Sharing

The most common questions about records concern sharing between departments and agencies. Unfortunately, there is no single source of law that regulates the powers that a public body has to use and to share personal information. To understand whether you have the power to share data, you must look at the administrative law that that governs the actions of public bodies, The Human Rights Act, The Data Protection Act, European Union law and the common law tort of breach of confidence.

The relationships between these areas of law are very complex, and it is not always easy to determine whether data sharing is permissible. It is often best to get specialist legal advice, but before paying-out, consider these four questions: 

• Do we have the power to carry out the function to which the data sharing relates, and are there any restrictions on it?

• Would sharing the data interfere with rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (see below) in a way, which would be disproportionate to the achievement of a legitimate aim and unnecessary in a democratic society?

• Would sharing of the data would breach any common law obligations of confidence?

• Would sharing of the data would be in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, in particular the Data Protection Principles?

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Last modified: 08/31/11