At 13:35 11/5/95 +0100, Mats Bergstrom wrote:

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This applies very much so in Sweden too. It *is* illegal to maintain any database with 'information on persons' (like their email addresses) without approval from the Data Inspection. But it's an open secret that this law is broken on a massive front and no bureaucrat is really trying to uphold it.

So the address book I keep in my hip pocket is illegal!

Not in the UK, any database maintained on a computer system is covered under the act. Manual records are not. This distinction is made because a group of senior conservative party members and supporters finance a group who keep records of "political disidents". These are available - for a fee for ue in checking employees before giving them jobs. Personally I think that this type of behaviour is unacceptable in a democracy and that it demonstrates the arrogance of power. I also think it falls plum center in the concerns of this group. Should such groups be allowed to buy details of our spending habits from supermarkets? The UK law essentially means that data gathered for one pupose may not be used for another. purpose without permission. It is entirely OK to have an address book of email addresses for the purpose of sending them mail. Phill