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Version status: In force | Document consolidation status: Updated to reflect all known changes
Version date: 31 December 2020 - onwards
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170. Unlawful obtaining etc of personal data

(1) It is an offence for a person knowingly or recklessly -

(a) to obtain or disclose personal data without the consent of the controller,

(b) to procure the disclosure of personal data to another person without the consent of the controller, or

(c) after obtaining personal data, to retain it without the consent of the person who was the controller in relation to the personal data when it was obtained.

(2) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) to prove that the obtaining, disclosing, procuring or retaining -

(a) was necessary for the purposes of preventing or detecting crime,

(b) was required or authorised by an enactment, by a rule of law or by the order of a court or tribunal, or

(c) in the particular circumstances, was justified as being in the public interest.

(3) It is also a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) to prove that -

(a) the person acted in the reasonable belief that the person had a legal right to do the

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