Category: data protection

Charity served with monetary penalty notice – Panopticon

Posted October 11th, 2012 in charities, data protection, fines, news, penalties, social services by sally

“Today (10 October), the Commissioner served – for the first time – a monetary penalty notice on a charity. The charity in question, Norwood Ravenswood Ltd, is a social care charity. One of its social workers had attempted to deliver to the home of prospective adopters certain background reports containing highly confidential sensitive personal data on four young children. Finding the couple out, and unable to fit the package through the letterbox, the social worker left the package in a concealed area at the side of the house. When the prospective adopters returned home, the package had disappeared. It was never recovered.”

Full story

Panopticon, 10th October 2012

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Cloud computing – new ICO guidance – Panopticon

Posted October 1st, 2012 in data protection, internet, jurisdiction, news, privacy by sally

“Cloud computing is becoming an ever more pervasive feature of the technological world. Whether one is dabbling in social networking or purchasing goods online, the truth is that we all, to a greater or lesser extent, now have our heads in the virtual clouds. However, the use of cloud computing inevitably raises important information law issues, particularly in terms of the impact on privacy rights and also under the Data Protection Act 1998.”

Full story

Panopticon, 27th September 2012

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

CPS admits to ‘inadvertent’ disclosure of tuition fee protestors’ data – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 1st, 2012 in Crown Prosecution Service, data protection, demonstrations, freedom of information, news, privacy by sally

“The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has apologised to hundreds of people after it ‘inadvertently disclosed’ their names, dates of birth and other personal data in a document as part of its response to a freedom of information (FOI) request.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 28th September 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Cloud on the horizon for data-handling outsourcing – Information Commissioner’s Office

Posted September 28th, 2012 in data protection, internet, press releases by sally

“The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published guidelines to businesses today to underline that companies remain responsible for how personal data is looked after, even if they pass it to cloud network providers.”

Full press release

Information Commissioner’s Office, 27th September 2012

www.ico.gov.uk

Insurance fraud register launched to aid crackdown on fake claims – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 14th, 2012 in data protection, fraud, insurance, news by sally

“Individuals that make false insurance claims will have their details added and stored on a new ‘Insurance Fraud Register’ (IFR) for five years in a bid by the insurance industry to crackdown on fraudsters.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 13th September 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

ICO’s ‘pragmatic’ view of outsourcing rules on sensitive personal data processing may be without legal basis, claim experts – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 14th, 2012 in consent, data protection, medical records, news by sally

“The view of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) that businesses do not require individuals’ ‘explicit consent’ in order to contract others to process their sensitive personal data is in contrast with the wording of data protection law, according to two experts.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 14th September 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Firms do not always need to delete personal data to comply with data protection rules, says ICO – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 30th, 2012 in data protection, employment, freedom of information, news by sally

“Organisations can temporarily keep personal data records even when the information is no longer necessary for processing purposes, the UK’s data protection watchdog has said.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 29th August 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

ICO issues guidance on disclosing employee personal data under FOI – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 30th, 2012 in data protection, employment, freedom of information, news by sally

“Local authorities and other public bodies must ensure that disclosing personal data about their employees under UK freedom of information (FOI) laws is ‘necessary’ even if they have established that it is “fair” to do so, a watchdog has said.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 29th August 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Consumers could win right to see data held on them – Daily Telegraph

Posted August 23rd, 2012 in consultations, consumer protection, data protection, freedom of information, news by sally

“Supermarkets and internet firms could be forced to release sensitive personal information that they hold about customers, ministers have said.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 22nd August 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Section 7(9) DPA is about privacy, not employment disputes – Panopticon

Posted August 22nd, 2012 in data protection, disclosure, electronic mail, employment, news, privacy by sally

“Disputes about subject access requests under section 7 of the Data Protection Act 1998 only rarely make their way to the Higher Courts. The leading – and often bedevilling – case of Durant is, for example, now 9 years old. Given this scarcity of precedent from the High Court and Court of Appeal, up-to-date illustrations of the judiciary’s approach to the DPA are most usefully sought in County Court judgments – see for example Panopticon’s post on the case of Elliot v Lloyds TSB Bank from earlier this year.”

Full story

Panopticon, 22nd August 2012

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Recent Developments in Information Law – 11 KBW

Posted August 21st, 2012 in data protection, EC law, freedom of information, news by sally

“This paper looks at various recent developments in information law, as follows:
• Post-legislative scrutiny of the Freedom of Information Act;
• Handling problem FOI requesters;
• The Protection of Freedoms Act;
• EU proposals for data protection reform; and
• Other recent developments in data protection.”

Full story

11 KBW, 17th August 2012

Source: www.11kbw.com

The Data Protection Act in defamation cases: increasingly relevant, potentially primary? – Panopticon

Posted August 21st, 2012 in data protection, defamation, news, prosecutions by sally

“The Data Protection Act 1998 is increasingly being deployed as part of a claimant’s arsenal in defamation claims. The Information Commissioner has historically resisted policing DPA breaches in the context of allegedly defamatory expressions of opinion by one person about another.”

Full story

Panopticon, 20th August 2012

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Fact’s victory over Surfthechannel is a decisive blow in the copyright wars – The Guardian

Posted August 20th, 2012 in complaints, conspiracy, copyright, Crown Prosecution Service, data protection, fraud, internet, news, precedent, prosecutions by sally

“The link-sharing website’s demise at the hands of the content industry’s pitbull has set more than one precedent.”

Full story

The Guardian, 19th August 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Twitter and the law: 10 legal risks in tweeting from or to the UK – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 9th, 2012 in data protection, defamation, harassment, internet, news, privacy by sally

“Debates in parliament, home visits from the police and distressed celebrities all seem a little unclear as to what is and what is not acceptable by law on Twitter. The list of those offending and those offended keeps growing with recent high profile reports referring to Louise Mensch, Tom Daley, Guy Adams, Steve Dorkland, Helen Skelton and Kevin Pietersen. This guide discusses 10 legal risks which apply, or potentially apply, to Twitter, in the context of recent media attention given to the lawfulness of tweets.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 9th August 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Health trust fined over data breach – The Independent

Posted August 6th, 2012 in data protection, fines, internet, news, privacy by sally

“A health body has been handed a six-figure penalty after publishing sensitive personal details of more than 1,000 NHS staff on the internet.”

Full story

The Independent, 6th August 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Security services to get more access to monitor emails and social media – The Guardian

Posted July 30th, 2012 in bills, data protection, EC law, electronic mail, intelligence services, interception, news, privacy, telecommunications by sally

“Britain has quietly agreed to measures that could increase the ability of the security services to intercept online communications, experts say.”

Full story

The Guardian, 28th July 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Higher fines should be issuable against bodies that tamper with FOI data, says Commons committee – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 26th, 2012 in data protection, fines, freedom of information, news, select committees by sally

“Public bodies should face higher fines for destroying or altering information that is ‘disclosable’ under freedom of information (FOI) laws, a committee of MPs has recommended.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 26th July 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

ICO reminds firms of requirement to gain clearance for personal data processing – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 25th, 2012 in data protection, news by sally

“The UK’s data protection watchdog is reminding firms that they must notify it and be registered in order to process personal data.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 24th July 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

David Cameron criticised for attacks on Freedom of Information Act – The Guardian

Posted July 17th, 2012 in civil servants, data protection, freedom of information, ministers' powers and duties, news by sally

“The information commissioner has accused David Cameron and other members of the political establishment of launching a damaging attack on the Freedom of Information Act which he says is encouraging civil servants to obscure the government from proper scrutiny.”

Full story

The Guardian, 16th July 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Inaccurate records costs NHS body £60,000 for sensitive data breach – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 13th, 2012 in data protection, fines, hospitals, medical records, news by sally

“A health body has been fined £60,000 after two letters containing ‘confidential and highly sensitive personal data’ about a ‘vulnerable individual’ were sent to the wrong address.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 13th July 2012

Source: www.out-law.com