ISPs data protection fears about database of suspected online copyright infringers unfounded – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 20th, 2013 in copyright, data protection, internet, news, privacy by sally

“OPINION: ISPs are wrong to suggest that data protection laws prevent rights holders creating a database of suspected online copyright infringers. Any concerns ISPs have about invasion of customers’ privacy can be overcome by the use of safeguards.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 20th September 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Sharing data between public bodies. What are the barriers? – Law Commission

Posted September 17th, 2013 in consultations, data protection, Law Commission, news by sally

“Public bodies often report that they are not always able to share the data they need to and, as a result, miss out on opportunities to provide better services to citizens. At the same time, there is a need to ensure that the security of data and privacy of individuals are not put at risk. In a consultation opening today, the Law Commission asks what are the obstacles to sharing data between public bodies, and are those obstacles desirable?”

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Law Commission, 16th September 2013

Source: www.lawcommission.justice.gov.uk

Council wins appeal over job titles of attendees at law firm meeting – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 16th, 2013 in appeals, contracting out, data protection, disclosure, local government, news, privacy by sally

“A council has won an appeal over whether it was required – following an FOI request – to disclose the job titles of junior officers attending a meeting at a law firm to discuss a major outsourcing project.”

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Local Government Lawyer, 13th September 2013

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Mortgage companies’ additional data reporting must serve a valid purpose and be limited to a necessary volume, says ICO – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 10th, 2013 in data protection, mortgages, news, privacy by sally

“The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) should review the necessity of asking mortgage providers to provide it with additional personal information about customers in order to ensure those individuals’ privacy rights are respected, a data protection watchdog has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 9th September 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Information Commissioners against publication of names on convicted data blaggers’ list – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 10th, 2013 in crime, data protection, disclosure, news, private investigators, select committees by sally

“The UK’s data protection watchdog has urged the Home Affairs Select Committee
not to follow through on its promise to publish the names of companies and
individuals that allegedly hired private investigators convicted of data
‘blagging’ offences.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 9th September 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

ICO warns councils over home working by social services employees – Local Government Lawyer

“A city council has been fined £100,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office after information on social services involvement with a number of individuals was published online.”

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Local Government Lawyer, 30th August 2013

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Liquidators are not data controllers under the Data Protection Act 1998 – Technology Law Update

Posted September 2nd, 2013 in bankruptcy, data protection, liquidators, loans, mortgages, news by sally

“The High Court has found that liquidators under a voluntary liquidation are not data controllers for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998 (“DPA” or “Act”) and so are not personally responsible for compliance with the Act.”

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Technology Law Update, 2nd September 2013

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

‘Hidden’ personal data disclosures in FOI responses results in £70,000 London council fine – OUT-LAW.com

“A local authority in London has been fined £70,000 after mistakenly disclosing sensitive personal information about more than 2,000 people in response to a freedom of information (FOI) request.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 26th August 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

ICO wrong to impose £250k fine on council for data breach, tribunal rules – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 23rd, 2013 in appeals, data protection, fines, local government, news, tribunals, waste by sally

“The Information Commissioner’s Office should not have imposed a £250,000 fine on Scottish Borders Council for a data breach, the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has ruled.”

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Local Government Lawyer, 22nd August 2013

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Probation officer prosecution should remind businesses of potential criminal penalties for data breaches, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 22nd, 2013 in data protection, fines, news, penalties, probation by sally

“The prosecution of a probation officer for handing over personal information relating to the victim of domestic abuse to the alleged perpetrator should act as a reminder to business of the criminal penalties they could face for breaching UK data protection laws, an expert has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 21st August 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Google trying to evade UK privacy laws, campaigners claim – The Guardian

Privacy campaigners have condemned Google for responding to British users’ claims that it had illicitly tracked their web browsing by claiming that UK laws do not apply to it.

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The Guardian, 19th August 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

In re Southern Pacific Personal Loans Ltd; Oakley Smith and another v Information Commissioner – WLR Daily

Posted August 14th, 2013 in data protection, insolvency, law reports, loans, statutory interpretation by sally

In re Southern Pacific Personal Loans Ltd; Oakley Smith and another v Information Commissioner [2013] EWHC 2485 (Ch); [2013] WLR (D) 336

“Joint liquidators of a company were not data controllers within the meaning of section 1(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998 in respect of data processed by the company prior to its liquidation.”

WLR Daily, 8th August 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

New subject access code published by ico – Panopticon

Posted August 12th, 2013 in children, codes of practice, data protection, internet, news by sally

“Yesterday I posted about a new and important High Court judgment on the application of the subject access regime. As it happens, yesterday was also the day on which the Information Commissioner published his new ‘Subject Access Code of Practice’. This is an important document which requires careful consideration by anyone working in the DPA field.”

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Panopticon, 9th August 2013

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Employee data sought in connection with potential tribunal cases must generally be handed over, says ICO – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 9th, 2013 in codes of practice, data protection, disclosure, employment tribunals, news by sally

“Businesses cannot refuse to hand over records containing employees’ personal information just because they suspect the information could be used against them in an employment tribunal, the UK’s data protection watchdog has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 9th August 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Subject access – important new high court judgment – Panopticon

Posted August 9th, 2013 in data protection, liquidators, news by sally

“It is a strange feature of the DPA subject access regime that, despite having extremely far reaching legal effects, to date it only rarely been the subject of judicial analysis. This is in no small part because the costs of bringing disputes over the application of the legislation before the courts are generally prohibitive. As readers of this blog will know, there have been some fairly recent county court judgments which have considered the application of the regime (see in particular the posts on the judgments in Elliott and Abadir here and here). However, jurisprudence emanating from the High Court has been decidedly thin on the ground. Today however the High Court has handed down an important judgment on the application of the regime: In the Matter of the Southern Pacific Personal Loans Limited [2013] EWHC 2485 (Admin). Readers will want to note in particular that part of the judgment where the court considered the relevance of the applicant’s purpose or motive in making a subject access request (SAR) – as discussed below.”

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Panopticon, 8th August 2013

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

New code of practice on conducting privacy impact assessments outlined – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 8th, 2013 in codes of practice, consultations, data protection, news, privacy by sally

“The Secretary of State (SoS) was correct to conclude that the demolition of a Victorian Chapel to pave the way for a housing regeneration scheme was an independent project and therefore did not require an environmental impact assessment (EIA), a High Court judge has ruled.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 7th August 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

GP surgeries must inform patients about data plan – or face legal action – The Independent

Posted August 7th, 2013 in data protection, doctors, medical records, news, prosecutions by sally

“GP practices could face prosecution under the Data Protection Act if they do not take steps to inform patients that data will be taken from their records and used by the NHS and private companies from this autumn.”

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The Independent, 6th August 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

South Lanarkshire Council v Scottish Information Commissioner – WLR Daily

South Lanarkshire Council v Scottish Information Commissioner [2013] UKSC 55; [2013] WLR (D) 307

“Whether processing personal data was ‘necessary’ within the meaning of condition 6 in Schedule 2 to the Data Protection Act 1998 was to be determined as part of the proportionality test established in European Union law so that a measure which interfered with a right protected by such law had to be the least restrictive for the achievement of a legitimate aim.”

WLR Daily, 29th July 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

South Lanarkshire Council (Appellant) v The Scottish Information Commissioner (Respondent) (Scotland) – Supreme Court

South Lanarkshire Council (Appellant) v The Scottish Information Commissioner (Respondent) (Scotland) [2013] UKSC 55 | UKSC 2012/0126 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 29th July 2013

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

Head in the cloud – New Law Journal

Posted July 29th, 2013 in data protection, disclosure, internet, jurisdiction, news, privacy by sally

“Robert Brown examines the implications for eDisclosure when a company’s data has moved into cyberspace.”

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New Law Journal, 19th July 2013

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk