what is dpa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland which defines UK law on the processing of data on identifiable living people.It is the main piece of legislation that governs the protection of personal data in the UK.he UK Data Protection Act is a large Act that has a reputation for complexity. While the basic principles are honoured for protecting privacy, interpreting the act is not always simple. Many companies, organisations and individuals seem very unsure of the aims, content and principles of the DPA.