Defamation in Scots law: consultation

Annex C: Handling of personal data

The data protection legislation has recently changed in the UK with the introduction of the Data Protection Act 2018. It gives you greater powers to protect your own privacy, and places greater responsibility on those processing your data for any purpose. The following is to explain your rights and give you the information you will be entitled to under the new legislation. Please note that this section only refers to your personal data (your name, address and anything that could be used to identify you personally) not the content of your response to the consultation.

The identity of the data controller and contact details of our Data Protection Officer

The Scottish Government is the data controller. The Data Protection Officer for the Scottish Government can be contacted at dpa@gov.scot.

Why we are collecting the data

Your personal data is being collected as an essential part of the consultation process, so that we can contact you regarding your response and for statistical purposes. We may also use it to contact you about related matters.

Legal basis for processing the data

Part 2 of the Data Protection Act provides that as a government department, the Scottish Government may process personal data as necessary for the effective performance of a task carried out in the public interest e.g. a consultation.

With whom we will be sharing the data

We will not be sharing personal data outside of the Scottish Government.

Your rights, e.g. access, rectification, erasure

The data we are collecting is your personal data, and you have considerable say over what happens to it. You have the right:

a) To see what data we have about you;

b) To ask us to stop using your data, but keep it on record;

c) To have all or some of your data deleted or corrected, and

d) To lodge a complaint with the independent Information Commissioner (ICO) if you think we are not handling your data fairly or in accordance with the law. You can contact the ICO at https://ico.org.uk/, or telephone 0303 123 1113.

The Scottish Government will not send your personal data outwith the European Economic Area. This data will not be used for any automated decision making. This data will be stored in a secure government IT system.