This document provides an overview of data protection laws and principles. It summarizes the key aspects of the UK Data Protection Act, including its purposes of balancing individual privacy rights with legitimate data use by organizations. It outlines the 8 data protection principles around fair and lawful processing, purpose limitations, data minimization, accuracy, storage limitations, individual rights, security safeguards, and international data transfers. The roles of the Information Commissioner's Office and common data protection concepts and compliance requirements are also summarized.