Public bodies use privacy laws to hide information, says watchdog – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 21st, 2013 in data protection, freedom of information, health, news, privacy by tracey

“Organisations are hiding behind data protection laws as an excuse to with-hold information from the public, a watchdog has admitted in the wake of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) scandal.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 20th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Government to consult on whether to make imprisonment potential sanction for data protection offences – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 19th, 2013 in consultations, data protection, enforcement, imprisonment, news by sally

“The Government is to consult on whether to introduce new laws that would make it possible for judges to send individuals to jail for offences under the Data Protection Act (DPA).”

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OUT-LAW.com, 19th June 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Prism: how can this level of state surveillance be legal? – The Guardian

“It’s hard to see how any system that captures data from millions of law-abiding citizens satisfies our right to privacy”

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The Guardian, 18th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Cybercrime needs to be better defined in order to protect privacy rights, says watchdog – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 18th, 2013 in computer crime, data protection, drafting, EC law, news, privacy by sally

“The European Commission should more clearly define what is meant by ‘cybercrime’ in order to prevent personal data from being processed in cases where it cannot be legally justified, an EU privacy watchdog has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 17th June 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Extending Police Retention of Biometric Material – Criminal Law and Justice Weekly

“The first Biometrics Commissioner, Mr Alastair MacGregor QC, has issued a consultation paper asking for views about how he should act in relation to the retention and use of biometric material obtained from persons who have been arrested but not charged.”

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Criminal Law and Justice Weekly, 15th June 2013

Source: www.criminallawandjustice.co.uk

Keir Starmer: terrorists could escape prosecution without ‘snoopers’ charter’ – Daily Telegraph

“There is a ‘real risk’ that terrorists could avoid prosecution if proposed internet monitoring powers are abandoned, the country’s top prosecutor has said.”

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Daily Telegraph, 11th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Purpose of social networking will determine whether businesses have data protection responsibilities, says ICO – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 6th, 2013 in data protection, internet, news, standards by sally

“Businesses that encourage staff to use social networks for commercial purposes are subject to UK data protection laws, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 6th June 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

“More intrusive” big data profiling would be subject to new two-tier privacy rules, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 30th, 2013 in data protection, news, privacy by sally

“Big data projects that build profiles of individuals would ‘almost certainly’ trigger privacy rules and safeguards proposed by an EU watchdog, an expert has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 30th May 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Companies will not be forced to publish results of equal pay audits, says Government – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 28th, 2013 in company law, data protection, disclosure, equal pay, news, publishing, reports by sally

“Companies that are required to undertake equal pay audits would not be required to make the results of those audits public, the Government has proposed.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 28th May 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Army sniper gets £100k after MoD blew his cover – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 22nd, 2013 in anonymity, armed forces, compensation, data protection, disclosure, news, privacy by sally

“An Army sniper has been paid £100,000 in compensation after being driven into hiding when Ministry of Defence officials blew his cover.”

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Daily Telegraph, 22nd May 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Distress must be directly linked to data breach for consumers to claim compensation, rules Court of Appeal – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 22nd, 2013 in appeals, compensation, data protection, news, privacy by sally

“Businesses do not have to pay compensation for causing distress to consumers if they break data protection laws unless the distress suffered by consumers is linked to the breach itself, the Court of Appeal has ruled.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 22nd May 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

OFT issues warning over personalised pricing transparency – OUT-LAW.com

“Businesses must be more transparent about the way they collect information about consumers in order to offer personalised prices for goods and services online, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 20th May 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Damages under section 13 DPA: Court of Appeal’s judgment in Halliday – Panopticon

Posted May 20th, 2013 in appeals, compensation, damages, data protection, news by sally

“I blogged a while ago about the ex tempore judgment from the Court of Appeal in a potentially groundbreaking case on damages under section 13 of the DPA, namely Halliday v Creation Consumer Finance [2013] EWCA Civ 333. The point of potential importance was that ‘nominal damages’ appeared to suffice for the purposes of section 13(1), thereby opening up section 13(2). In short, the point is that claimants under the DPA cannot be compensated for distress unless they have also suffered financial harm. A ‘nominal damages’ approach to the concept of financial harm threatened to make the DPA’s compensation regime dramatically more claimant-friendly.”

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Panopticon, 17th May 2013

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Consent should be needed for anonymised data sharing to be lawful, say campaigners – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 15th, 2013 in consent, data protection, EC law, internet, news, privacy, telecommunications by sally

“Businesses should have to ask for individuals’ consent before sharing anonymised personal data with third parties, digital rights campaigners have said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th May 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Separate data protection law for employment relations recommended – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 10th, 2013 in data protection, EC law, employment, news, reports by sally

“New laws should be drafted to set specific rules around data protection in employment relations, a new report has recommended.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 9th May 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Litter Enforcers let loose in Leeds – what rights to private contractors have to request personal details and issue fines? – Zenith Chambers

Posted May 8th, 2013 in data protection, fines, litter, news, public private partnerships by sally

“Private contractors are increasingly being used by local councils in an attempt to curb offences of littering. This has provoked an uproar amongst the press with reports of local residents being issued with ‘heavy handed fines’ for the most trivial offences, rather than receiving a warning and the opportunity to pick up their litter first.”

Full story (PDF)

Zenith Chambers, 3rd May 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Caldicott review: unlawful personal data processing and sharing should be reported as ‘data breach’ – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 30th, 2013 in data protection, health, news, reports, social services by sally

“Health and social care bodies should be required to publish details of cases where they have processed or shared patients’ personal data without having a legal basis to do so, Dame Fiona Caldicott has recommended.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 29th April 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

UK security breach study should prompt retailers to consider cyber insurance, expert says – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 24th, 2013 in data protection, insurance, internet, news by sally

“Small and medium-sized online retailers can benefit from a ‘network of experts’ at “discounted rates” by taking out cyber liability or data breach insurance policies, an expert has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 23rd April 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Europol, the EU’s crime intelligence agency demands access to British police files – The Guardian

Posted April 19th, 2013 in criminal records, data protection, intelligence services, news, police by tracey

“New powers will give the European Union’s criminal intelligence agency Europol
access to all information held by the police, including evidence files on
children, victims, witnesses and other people never even suspected of a crime.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 18th April 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

FSA was right to refuse FOI request, rules watchdog – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 17th, 2013 in appeals, data protection, disclosure, freedom of information, news by sally

“The former City regulator, the Financial Services Authority, was right not to disclose information it held about a company it had investigated based on freedom of information (FOI) legislation carve outs, the Information Commissioner has ruled.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 16th April 2013

Source: www.out-law.com