- Lawfulness, Fairness, and Transparency- Personal data must, be processed lawfully, fairly, and in a transparent manner.
- Purpose Limitation- Collected for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes.
- Data Minimization- Adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary.
- Accuracy– Kept accurate and up to date
- Storage Limitation- Personal data kept in an identifiable form for no longer than necessary.
- Integrity and Confidentiality- Ensuring security of personal data against unauthorised processing and loss.
- Accountability– Demonstrate compliance with the other principles.
Tag: the view from where i sit
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The 7 Principles of GDPR
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Access consultancy services under the Equality Act
Access consultancy services under the Equality Act 2010 are essential for organizations to ensure they are not unlawfully discriminating against people with disabilities. These services include:
Access Audits: Assessing a building or environment against best-practice standards to benchmark its accessibility to disabled people.
Access Strategies: Developing a plan to improve accessibility and meet legal obligations under the Equality Act.
Access Training: Providing training to help organizations understand their legal duties and implement necessary adjustments.
Access Appraisals: Evaluating the accessibility of a building or service to identify barriers and recommend reasonable adjustments.These services are crucial for organizations to demonstrate compliance with the Equality Act and to create inclusive environments that benefit all users, including disabled people.
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Access Audits and Access Appraisals
Access audits and appraisals are both essential processes in ensuring the accessibility of environments and services. However, they serve different purposes and are conducted in different contexts.
Access Audits: These are typically conducted for existing buildings or environments to identify and improve accessibility. They are not a checklist but a detailed appraisal of the accessibility of an environment, its facilities, and any services delivered from it. Access audits are carried out by specialists such as architects, occupational therapists, access consultants, and people with disabilities.
Access Appraisals: These are usually part of the design process for new buildings or environments. They are more detailed and focus on the design and planning stages, ensuring that the principles of inclusive design are embedded within the project from the outset. Access appraisals are tailored to the unique context and requirements of the client, providing a detailed analysis of access improvements that can be fully integrated into a project.In summary, access audits are focused on existing environments to improve accessibility, while access appraisals are part of the design process for new environments to ensure inclusive design principles are met. Both processes are crucial for creating environments that are welcoming and accessible to all users.
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Wheelchair Access at the London 2012 Paralympic Games
Travelling in London for the Paralympic Games was quite an adventure. My sole purpose at the Games was to report about the Bermudian Paralympian Jessica Lewis, who competed in the Wheelchair Track Events there. However, aside from that I also observed other issues like accessibility on transport, especially during this special sporting event.
Overall, it was a quite pleasant and positive experience. I didn’t have any experiences where I had to complain about inaccessibility or poor services. This subject is important to me as I am a wheelchair user and mobility is always an on going problem for people who have little or no use of their lower extremities. Another reason why I’ve chosen to report on this is to make comparisons between accessibility in Bermuda’s Public Transport System and accessibility in London’s Public Transport system.
From my point of view, I think that London’s Public Transport System is better organised than Bermuda’s because the staff members seem to be more experienced and therefore know what to do, especially if something was to go wrong.For example, one afternoon while I was travelling to the Olympic Stadium, I had to get on the bus but the ramp on it was malfunctioning. So when the staff saw this, they reported it, called for a new one and before you knew it, it arrived in no time. This proved to me that their services are fast and efficient.
Unfortunately, in Bermuda, that has not been my experience. In the UK, it is apparently mandatory for all public transport to be fully equipped to serve the physically challenged community. However, in Bermuda we don’t have any laws in place to hold the Public Transport System accountable for how they give their services to people who have mobility problems.
A few years ago, our former Premier did try to improve the wheelchair accessibility of the public buses by bringing in new ones with ramps. However, a problem occurred where the size of the gap between the buses and the sidewalks were not measured properly so this plan unfortunately did not work.
While being in London for the past two weeks, I generally enjoyed travelling on the buses and the shuttle. All of the public places that I visited were wheelchair friendly and were implemented with both ramps and elevators to make getting around easier for me and other physically challenged people.
However, on my way back, returning from London, I did experience a problem getting to the coach station. As I travelled on the buses in London, I noticed that there were short messages on the windows that said, “This area is designated for wheelchair users and baby buggies,” or it would say, “Please give preference to wheelchair users.”
However, when there is a baby buggy on the bus, wheelchair users are not allowed. So while I travelled back from London, this created a problem. I ended up watching six buses go by as the wheelchair spaces were occupied with baby buggies which prevented me from getting on. The full buses were due to the athlete’s parade that was going on to officially end the London 2012 Paralympic Games. As time went by, I ended up changing my plans and turned to the train service for help. Two gentlemen kindly lifted me down the stairs in my wheelchair and onto the train.
This train then took me to the coach station and from there I waited for my coach to arrive. When it arrived, the driver operated the lift which brought my wheelchair on the coach and then I transferred to a regular seat and went on my way back home. -
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities vs Americans with Disabilities Act
Did you know the difference between the CRPD and the ADA?
The CRPD (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) is a global human rights treaty that tells countries how disabled people’s rights should be protected.
The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) is a U.S. civil rights law that bans disability discrimination and gives us concrete rights we can enforce here at home.
Knowing about both matters because the ADA is what we can use right now to ask for access, push back on discrimination, and file complaints or lawsuits.
The CRPD gives us a global standard and language to say, “Disabled people everywhere deserve more than the bare minimum” and to hold governments accountable.
Together, they help us see when what we’re getting is just compliance with the law vs. what true disability justice and human rights should look like.
When we understand these tools, we’re better equipped to advocate for ourselves, support each other, and push for systemic change, not just small accommodations.
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The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC Act) aims to regulate competition in digital markets, enhance consumer rights, and provide the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) with new enforcement powers.
Overview of the DMCC Act
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 was enacted to address the unique challenges posed by digital markets, where a small number of companies hold significant market power. The act aims to promote competition, protect consumers, and ensure fair trading practices in the digital economy.
Key Provisions
Regulation of Digital Markets: The act empowers the CMA to designate certain undertakings as having strategic market status. This designation allows the CMA to impose specific conduct requirements on these companies to promote competition and prevent anti-competitive practices.
Consumer Protection: The DMCC Act enhances consumer rights by addressing unfair commercial practices, including misleading advertising and fake reviews. It imposes duties on businesses to ensure transparency and fairness in their dealings with consumers.
Enforcement Powers: The CMA has been granted significant new enforcement tools, including the ability to impose monetary penalties of up to 10% of global turnover for non-compliance. This includes streamlined settlement options and new offenses for failing to provide essential information in marketing practices.
Impact on Businesses: The act applies not only to direct sellers but also to online platforms and any parties involved in promoting or supplying products to consumers. Businesses must ensure compliance with the new regulations, even if they do not sell directly to end users.
Implications for Consumers and Businesses
The DMCC Act is expected to foster a more competitive digital marketplace, benefiting consumers through improved choices and protections. For businesses, it necessitates a thorough understanding of the new regulations and compliance requirements to avoid penalties and ensure fair trading practices.In summary, the DMCC Act represents a significant step towards regulating digital markets and enhancing consumer rights in the UK, reflecting the government’s commitment to addressing the challenges posed by the digital economy. For more detailed information, you can refer to the official legislation here.
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Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs)
The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) were largely reinstated in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC Act) from 6 April 2025. The CPRs will apply to unfair commercial practices that took place before this date.
These protection from unfair trading provisions address:
A general ban on unfair commercial practices
A ban on misleading and aggressive practices, which are assessed in light of the effect they have, or are likely to have, on the average consumer
A ban on omitting material information from an ‘invitation to purchase’ (including drip pricing)
A ‘blacklist’ of commercial practices which will always be unfair and so are banned outright. There are 32 banned practices under the DMCC Act, and one new banned practice is fake reviews. -
General Data Protection Rights
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) establishes strict rules for the processing of personal data, ensuring individuals’ privacy rights and imposing obligations on organizations that handle such data.
Overview of GDPR
The GDPR, which came into effect on May 25, 2018, aims to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe and protect the personal data of EU citizens. It applies to any organization that processes personal data of individuals within the EU, regardless of where the organization is based.Key Principles of GDPR
- Lawfulness, Fairness, and Transparency: Personal data must be processed lawfully, fairly, and in a transparent manner concerning the data subject.
- Purpose Limitation: Data should be collected for specified, legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner incompatible with those purposes.
- Data Minimization: Only the data necessary for the intended purpose should be collected and processed.
- Accuracy: Personal data must be accurate and kept up to date; inaccurate data should be rectified or erased without delay.
- Storage Limitation: Data should be kept in a form that permits identification of data subjects for no longer than necessary for the purposes for which the data is processed.
- Integrity and Confidentiality: Personal data must be processed securely to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction, or damage.
Rights of Individuals
Under GDPR, individuals have several rights regarding their personal data, including:
- Right to Access: Individuals can request access to their personal data and obtain information about how it is processed.
- Right to Rectification: Individuals can request correction of inaccurate personal data.
- Right to Erasure: Also known as the “right to be forgotten,” individuals can request the deletion of their personal data under certain conditions.
- Right to Restrict Processing: Individuals can request the restriction of processing their personal data in specific situations.
- Right to Data Portability: Individuals can request their personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and transfer it to another controller.
- Right to Object: Individuals can object to the processing of their personal data in certain circumstances, including for direct marketing purposes.
Compliance Obligations for Organizations
Organizations must implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure compliance with GDPR. This includes:
Conducting Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) when necessary.
Appointing a Data Protection Officer (DPO) if required.
Notifying authorities and affected individuals in the event of a data breach.
Maintaining records of processing activities.
Conclusion
GDPR represents a significant shift in data protection laws, emphasizing the importance of individual privacy rights and imposing strict obligations on organizations. For more detailed information, you can refer to the official GDPR text here and the UK-specific guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office here. -
Consumer Rights Act 2015 vs the Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 serve different purposes in the UK legal framework. The Human Rights Act 1998 is designed to protect individuals’ rights to life, liberty, and fair trials, among others, by ensuring that public authorities respect and protect these rights. It is applicable to all public authorities and bodies exercising public functions.
In contrast, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 focuses on consumer rights, particularly in the context of goods and services contracts, ensuring that consumers have the right to expect goods to be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, and as described. It applies to all goods and services contracts, including hire-purchase agreements and contracts for the transfer of goods.
The two acts are complementary, with the Human Rights Act providing a framework for individuals to challenge breaches of their rights in the courts, while the Consumer Rights Act provides a legal basis for consumers to enforce their rights in the marketplace.
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