The Data Protection Act was originally made in 1988 in the UK. This was the first major data protection law to regulate how personal data was managed by organizations and laid down important data protection principles. Later, it was updated by the Data Protection Act 1998, which replaced the 1988 Act and implemented more modern data protection rules. Most recently, the Data Protection Act 2018 was passed and received royal assent on May 23, 2018, coming into effect on May 25, 2018. The 2018 Act updates data protection laws in the UK to align with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
In summary:
- First Data Protection Act: 1988
- Updated Data Protection Act: 1998
- Current Data Protection Act: 2018 (effective from May 25, 2018)
