Probation service in chaos as systems wipe offenders’ data – The Independent

‘Britain’s probation service is in chaos after a series of crippling computer failures over the past three weeks, with thousands of offenders’ case files lost, frozen or wiped.’

Full story

The Independent, 22nd June 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Victory for Spamalot – Niebel in the Upper Tribunal – Panopticon

‘The spamming industry is a decidedly irritating but sadly almost unavoidable feature of our networked world. There is no question but that spamming (i.e. the sending of unsolicited direct marketing electronic communications) constitutes an unlawful invasion of our privacy (see further regs 22-23 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/2426) (PECR), implemented under EU Directive 2002/21/EC). The question is what can be done to stop it, particularly given that individual citizens will typically not want to waste their time litigating over the odd spam email or text?’

Full story

Panopticon, 19th June 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Fairness under the DPA: public interests can outweigh those of the data subject – Panopticon

Posted June 19th, 2014 in data protection, news, police, professional conduct, public interest by sally

‘Suppose a departing employee was the subject of serious allegations which you never had the chance properly to investigate or determine. Should you mention these (unproven) allegations to a future employer? Difficult questions arise, in both ethical and legal terms. One aspect of the legal difficulty arises under data protection law: would it be fair to share that personal information with the prospective employer?’

Full story

Panopticon, 18th June 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Section 13 DPA in the High Court: nominal damage plus four-figure distress award – Panopticon

Posted June 16th, 2014 in compensation, damages, data protection, disclosure, documents, news, time limits by sally

‘Given the paucity of case law, it is notoriously difficult to estimate likely awards of compensation under section 13 of the Data Protection Act 1998 for breaches of that Act. It is also very difficult to assess any trends in compensation awards over time.’

Full story

Panopticon, 13th June 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Data Protection and Child Protection – Panopticon

‘One of the difficulties users and practitioners have with the Data Protection Act 1998 is that there is so little case law on any of the provisions, it can be very hard to know how a court will react to the complicated structure and often unusual factual scenarios which can throw up potential claims. There are two reasons why there is so little case law. First, most damages claims under the DPA go to the County Court, where unless you were in the case it is hard to know that it happened or get hold of a judgment. Secondly, most damages claims are for small sums, which is it is more cost-effective to settle than fight.’

Full story

Panopticon, 6th June 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

How to get Google to remove outdated links to your personal data – RPC Privacy Law

Posted June 3rd, 2014 in data protection, internet, news, privacy by sally

‘Google has today announced how it intends to deal with the European Court’s judgment in the Google Spain case. In today’s Financial Times Google’s CEO, Larry Page, has confirmed that Google will take steps to recognise individuals’ “right to be forgotten” in appropriate cases. It will do so by introducing an online mechanism for users to request the removal from search results of links to data that are outdated.’

Full story

RPC Privacy Law, 30th May 2014

Source: www.rpc.co.uk

EBay could face compensation claims following cyber attack, warns expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 23rd, 2014 in compensation, computer crime, data protection, fines, identity fraud, news by sally

‘Online marketplace eBay may face compensations claims from some of its users if their IT security systems are shown to be deficient in light of a major cyber attack that has hit the company, an expert has said.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 22nd May 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Publisher not forced to delete archived article on man’s spent conviction – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 22nd, 2014 in data protection, media, news, privacy, publishing by sally

‘Newspaper publisher Newsquest does not have to remove an old article from its online archive which reports on the conviction of a man for fraud, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has ruled.’

 Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 21st May 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Global Witness and the journalism exemption: ICO to have the first go? – Panopticon

Posted May 2nd, 2014 in data protection, news, rectification, stay of proceedings by tracey

‘Panopticon has previously reported on the novel and important data protection case Steinmetz and Others v Global Witness [2014] EWHC 1186 (Ch). The High Court (Henderson J) has now given a judgment on a procedural point which will set the shape for this litigation.’

Full story

Panopticon, 30th April 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

ICO urges app developers to respect users’ privacy – RPC Privacy Law

‘The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published guidance aimed at helping mobile app developers comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) and ensure that the privacy of app users is protected.’

Full story

RPC Privacy Law, 11th April 2014

Source: www.rpc.co.uk

Digital Rights Ireland Ltd v Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and others (Irish Human Rights Commission intervening); In re Kärntner Landesregierung and others – WLR Daily

Posted April 14th, 2014 in data protection, EC law, electronic mail, law reports by sally

Digital Rights Ireland Ltd v Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and others (Irish Human Rights Commission intervening); In re Kärntner Landesregierung and others (Joined Cases C-293/12 and C-594/12); [2014] WLR (D) 164

‘Parliament and Council Directive 2006/24/EC of 15 March 2006 on the retention of data generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications networks and amending Directive 2002/58/EC was invalid.’

WLR Daily, 8th April 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

EU court of justice overturns law that would enable ‘snoopers’ charter’ – The Guardian

Posted April 9th, 2014 in data protection, EC law, internet, privacy, telecommunications by sally

‘The European court of justice has declared the data retention directive illegal, torpedoing UK government schemes for the so-called “snooper’s charter” of wide-ranging collection of phone and internet data.’

Full story

The Guardian, 8th April 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Right to privacy: can we really trust Google Glass? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted March 25th, 2014 in data protection, EC law, news, photography, privacy, video recordings by sally

‘It is difficult to have missed the hype surrounding Google Glass (referred to simply as “Glass”), not only because of its futuristic technological capabilities and design, but also the concerns it raises for an individual’s Art 8 right to privacy.’

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 24th March 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Data protection and compensation: the “irreversible march” towards revolutionary change – Panopticon

Posted March 24th, 2014 in compensation, data protection, EC law, news by sally

‘At 11KBW’s Information Law conference this past Tuesday, I talked a bit about the progress of the draft EU Data Protection Regulation. I omitted to mention last week’s development (my reason: I was on holiday in Venice, where data protection seemed less pressing). In a plenary session on 12 March, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in support of the Commission’s current draft of the Regulation. This is all explain in this Memo from the European Commission. Here are some key points.’

Full story

Panopticon, 21st March 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

ICO fines police force £100k over information left in former station – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 20th, 2014 in data protection, documents, fines, news by tracey

‘A police force has been fined £100,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office after confidential information – including interview videotapes – was left in the basement of a former police station.’

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 20th March 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Information held in electronic databases not property which can be possessed, rules UK court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 20th, 2014 in appeals, computer programs, data protection, news, publishing by tracey

‘Information stored electronically does not constitute property which someone can exercise possession of, judges in the UK have ruled.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 20th March 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Privacy groups raise complaint with ICO over cloud-stored data from hospital records – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 19th, 2014 in data protection, hospitals, internet, medical records, news, ombudsmen, privacy by tracey

‘The UK’s Information Commissioner Office (ICO) has been asked to investigate whether privacy rules were breached when data collected from hospitals was uploaded to cloud servers operated by Google.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 18th March 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Your Response Ltd v Datateam Business Media Ltd – WLR Daily

Posted March 18th, 2014 in appeals, computer programs, data protection, fees, law reports, publishing by tracey

Your Response Ltd v Datateam Business Media Ltd: [2014] EWCA Civ 281;   [2014] WLR (D)  131

‘The exercise of a common law lien was not available over an electronic database as the electronic database was not property susceptible of possession which was capable of being subject to larceny or conversion or being taken in execution.’

WLR Daily, 14th March 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

APIL granted permission to challenge HMRC policy on mesothelioma victims’ work records – Litigation Futures

‘The High Court is this week hearing a judicial review that claimant lawyers hope will strike down the deeply unpopular policy of HM Revenue & Customs that means it will only release the employment history of a mesothelioma victim to their lawyer with a High Court order.’

Full story

Litigation futures, 12th March 2014

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Abortion provider BPAS fined £200,000 for data breach – BBC News

Posted March 7th, 2014 in abortion, data protection, fines, internet, news, privacy by tracey

‘An abortion provider has been fined £200,000 for a data breach that revealed almost 10,000 people’s details to a hacker.’

Full story

BBC News, 7th March 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk