Legislation and software licences

The Data Protection Act 2018 works with the UK GDPR to set rules for organisations using personal data. They should use it fairly and lawfully, for clear purposes, keep only what is needed, keep it accurate, protect it and not keep it longer than necessary. People have rights such as accessing information and correcting inaccurate data. For a programmer, this means designing services to protect data and collecting only what the service needs. For a user, it means they can ask how their information is used. See the UK government guide; this is a summary, not legal advice.

The Computer Misuse Act 1990 makes unauthorised access to computer material an offence. It also covers unauthorised access intended to commit further offences and unauthorised acts intended to impair a computer or data. A programmer must not access or change systems without permission. A user should protect accounts and report suspicious activity. Security testing is appropriate only when the system owner has authorised it. Read the Act on legislation.gov.uk.

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 protects creative works, including computer programs. Copying, sharing or changing software without permission may break copyright; use it under the licence the owner provides. An open-source licence makes source code available and gives permissions to use, study, change or share it, subject to that licence's conditions. A proprietary licence usually restricts access to source code and what users may copy or change. Open source does not always mean free of charge, and each licence has its own terms. See the Act and the GNU GPL as examples.