How Should Companies Handle Personal Data?

Handling personal data responsibly means following the seven key principles of the UK GDPR: lawfulness, fairness, transparency, purpose limitation, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, and integrity/confidentiality.

Organisations must:

• Collect only data that is necessary for defined purposes.
• Store it securely using encryption or restricted access.
• Keep it accurate and up-to-date.
• Retain it only for as long as necessary.
• Dispose of it securely when no longer required.

These principles underpin data protection compliance and demonstrate accountability to both regulators and the public.