UK Filing System Criterion in Data Protection Law

The Filing System Criterion is used to determine the applicability of data protection law in the UK by extending its scope to cover systematically arranged personal data on paper or other non-digital formats, in addition to digital data.

Text of Relevant Provisions

DPA 2018 Art.4(2)(a):

"Chapter 2 of this Part— (a) applies to the types of processing of personal data to which the GDPR applies by virtue of Article 2 of the GDPR, and" Original (English): "Chapter 2 of this Part— (a) applies to the types of processing of personal data to which the GDPR applies by virtue of Article 2 of the GDPR, and"

Analysis of Provisions

The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) does not explicitly mention the "Filing System Criterion" in its provisions. However, it references the GDPR, which includes the concept of a "filing system" in Article 2. The GDPR defines a "filing system" as any structured set of personal data which are accessible according to specific criteria, whether centralized, decentralized or dispersed on a functional or geographical basis.

The DPA 2018, in Article 4(2)(a), states that Chapter 2 of the Act applies to the types of processing of personal data to which the GDPR applies by virtue of Article 2 of the GDPR. This implies that the scope of the DPA 2018 includes processing of personal data that falls under the GDPR's definition of a "filing system."

However, the DPA 2018 does not provide a direct reference to the "Filing System Criterion" as described in the input. The closest relevant provision is the reference to the GDPR's Article 2, which includes the concept of a "filing system."

Implications

Given the indirect reference to the "Filing System Criterion" through the GDPR, the implications for businesses in the UK are that they must consider the systematic arrangement of personal data, whether in digital or non-digital formats, when determining the applicability of data protection law. This means that any structured set of personal data that is accessible according to specific criteria would fall under the scope of the DPA 2018, regardless of whether it is stored digitally or on paper.

For example, a company maintaining a manual filing system for employee records would need to comply with the DPA 2018, as this would be considered a systematic arrangement of personal data. Conversely, a company with unstructured or random collections of personal data would not be subject to the same level of regulation under this criterion.