Introduction:
For this paper we are going to explain the legal & ethical issues relating to the use of
business information. The company that I choose is the Swedish retail industry IKEA.
About Data Protection Act 1998
The data protection act 1998 was a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which was made to
protect personal data on the computer or on paper. The person who has their data
processed has a lot of rights, such as:
- They can view the data that the company has of them
- Incorrect information must be corrected
- Data is not used for marketing
There are also some rules about the information that the company is keeping:
- It shall be processed fairly and lawfully
- Only for a specific purpose
- Adequate and relevant
- Up to date
- Not longer need than necessary
- In line with your rights
- To prevent unlawful problems and damage to personal data
- Protected to transfer to an area outside the EEA
, What personal data does IKEA collect?
IKEA collects a lot of personal data such as your name, telephone number, email, address,
date of birth, purchases, payment information and more. Even your IP address when your
with your phone on the website. If you use the Wi-Fi in the store they can even collect your
MAC address and location. They have a lawful basis for doing it. They are using it anonymous
and are not linking your data to something else. They are using it to maximize the efficiency
of their store design. So the IKEA collects a lot of personal data of the costumer.
How does IKEA use the Data Protection Act 1998 with the personal data:
Lawfully and fairly:
IKEA has a lot of information of the costumer, but they are not processing it in the system,
they are only collecting it. That is legal. They are processing it when your making an order.
The put it in a contract for both parties, everything is on paper and the costumer knows their
rights. They always make sure they balance the interest against their rights.
Only for specific purpose:
When IKEA is using the data it is for a specific reason. They can use it to prevent fraud or
other illegal activities. But they can also give you information, based on what the costumer
purchased online or in the store. They can communicate the costumer about an item they
bought or answer questions.
For business purpose they can use the information to see if the costumer use the website for
relevant manner and they can see if the costumer finds the website costumer friendly also to
check if the costumer finds the products of service high quality.
Adequate and relevant:
When IKEA is processing the personal data they only do it when it`s relevant. Why would
they process information of someone who never buys something, and only visit the site but
put nothing in the shopping bag. The have collect the IP address but it`s not relevant. If
someone buys something they need a name, address, e-mail. These are relevant for service
of the product they bought, to see if everything is fine.
Up to date:
The data IKEA is collecting and using is always up to date. If costumers have a account online
and they change something about there personal information it comes directly to IKEA.
For this paper we are going to explain the legal & ethical issues relating to the use of
business information. The company that I choose is the Swedish retail industry IKEA.
About Data Protection Act 1998
The data protection act 1998 was a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which was made to
protect personal data on the computer or on paper. The person who has their data
processed has a lot of rights, such as:
- They can view the data that the company has of them
- Incorrect information must be corrected
- Data is not used for marketing
There are also some rules about the information that the company is keeping:
- It shall be processed fairly and lawfully
- Only for a specific purpose
- Adequate and relevant
- Up to date
- Not longer need than necessary
- In line with your rights
- To prevent unlawful problems and damage to personal data
- Protected to transfer to an area outside the EEA
, What personal data does IKEA collect?
IKEA collects a lot of personal data such as your name, telephone number, email, address,
date of birth, purchases, payment information and more. Even your IP address when your
with your phone on the website. If you use the Wi-Fi in the store they can even collect your
MAC address and location. They have a lawful basis for doing it. They are using it anonymous
and are not linking your data to something else. They are using it to maximize the efficiency
of their store design. So the IKEA collects a lot of personal data of the costumer.
How does IKEA use the Data Protection Act 1998 with the personal data:
Lawfully and fairly:
IKEA has a lot of information of the costumer, but they are not processing it in the system,
they are only collecting it. That is legal. They are processing it when your making an order.
The put it in a contract for both parties, everything is on paper and the costumer knows their
rights. They always make sure they balance the interest against their rights.
Only for specific purpose:
When IKEA is using the data it is for a specific reason. They can use it to prevent fraud or
other illegal activities. But they can also give you information, based on what the costumer
purchased online or in the store. They can communicate the costumer about an item they
bought or answer questions.
For business purpose they can use the information to see if the costumer use the website for
relevant manner and they can see if the costumer finds the website costumer friendly also to
check if the costumer finds the products of service high quality.
Adequate and relevant:
When IKEA is processing the personal data they only do it when it`s relevant. Why would
they process information of someone who never buys something, and only visit the site but
put nothing in the shopping bag. The have collect the IP address but it`s not relevant. If
someone buys something they need a name, address, e-mail. These are relevant for service
of the product they bought, to see if everything is fine.
Up to date:
The data IKEA is collecting and using is always up to date. If costumers have a account online
and they change something about there personal information it comes directly to IKEA.
