
Data protection, rights and access: FOI related legislation
These are the laws that may dictate release of data to members of the public. Those listed below are law in Scotland, but there is also a UK Act.
- The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which gives everyone the right to ask for any information held by a Scottish public authority (including GCU).
- The Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (the EIRs) come from a European Directive on access to environmental information. The EIRs give everyone the right to ask for environmental information held by a Scottish public authority (and some other bodies).
- The INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009 also come from a European Directive, and create a right to discover and view spatial datasets (such as map data) held by Scottish public authorities.
From: Scottish Information Commissioner website
The existence of these laws is a reason to consider the planned release of your research data rather than be asked unexpectedly.
The United States Freedom of Information Act was passed as early as 1966 as a response to campaigners such as Ralph Nader, but it only applies to federal agencies. Many countries have some form of Freedom of Information legislation.
You have now completed this unit. Take a look at the 'Data protection, rights and access' section in the 'Recommended resources' to gain further understanding of the topic.