Data Processor

A person who processes personal data without having any decision-making input. This concept is taken from the previous Data Protection Act where, for example, the job of wage or salary processing was sub-contracted out. The subcontractor would not be responsible for deciding on the rates of pay but would simply calculate national insurance contributions, trade union membership fees and other deductions and determine net pay. A data processor may merely store personal data on behalf of a data controller. They would act entirely, ‘under orders’, acting entirely on behalf of the data controller.