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Jargon Explained

We want everyone to engage positively and constructively with data protection rights and responsibilities. To do that, we try and present information and guidance in a relevant and accessible way. Although it is sometimes necessary to use legal terminology, we will use plain English wherever we can. Data protection is for all of us, not just for lawyers.
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C

Child

An individual under 18 years of age. Visit our children area for more information. 

Consent is a freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication that an individual agrees to the processing of their personal data. It can be expressed either by a clear affirmative action or by a clear statement. Note: ‘Consent’ and ‘Explicit Consent’ are different to each other in ways that are tricky to summarise. But in essence it boils down to the difference between actions the person may take to indicate their consent, and a written statement where they give their explicit consent.

Remember, regardless of which consent is used, if the person withdraws their consent the processing of their personal data must stop.

Controller

 A Controller is any entity* who is responsible for the decisions made about why and how they use personal data about staff, customers, suppliers, or any other people. Note: if you are an individual employee of a organisation you would be usually considered to be part of the controller. 

* this entity would normally be an organisation, but it could be a specific human being (e.g. sole traders, landlords, elected officials etc).

See related entry on 'Processor' 

Criminal data

Criminal data is any personal data about a person's: criminal activity; alleged criminal activity; investigations into that person; and legal proceedings involving that person.