Aneurin Bevan Health Board fined £70,000 over data breach – BBC News

Posted April 30th, 2012 in data protection, disclosure, fines, medical records, news, privacy by sally

“A Welsh health board has become the first NHS body to be fined for breaching the Data Protection Act after it released sensitive data about a patient to the wrong person.”

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BBC News, 30th April 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Watchdog defends apparent discrepancies in fines for private and public sector data breaches – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 30th, 2012 in data protection, fines, local government, news, ombudsmen by sally

“The UK’s data protection watchdog has defended its policy of issuing fines after newly released figures suggested private sector organisations are issued with disproportionately fewer fines than local Government ones.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 27th April 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Six fines issued for data breaches – The Independent

Posted April 25th, 2012 in data protection, fines, freedom of information, news by sally

“Six public bodies were fined over personal data security breaches in the last year despite hundreds of reported cases, a report said today.”

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The Independent, 25th April 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Names of staff members who dealt with complaints are not necessarily personal data, Tribunal says – OUT-LAW.com

“The names of three junior members of staff who had handled complaints made to the financial services regulator should have been disclosed as part of a freedom of information request as disclosure ‘did not adversely affect their privacy’, a tribunal has ruled.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 18th April 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Government to give consumers control over smart meter data amidst privacy concerns – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 12th, 2012 in consumer protection, data protection, energy, news, privacy by sally

“Third-party companies will not be able to access data recorded in consumers’ smart meters unless consumers choose to let them see it, the Government has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 12th April 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Blogger’s publication of Motorman records may have breached data protection laws, says watchdog – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 11th, 2012 in data protection, interception, media, news, privacy by sally

“A political blogger may have breached UK data protection laws after posting a list of journalists and the requests they allegedly made to a private detective to ‘blag’ information for stories.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 11th April 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Enforcement of cookie consent rules for analytics not a priority, ICO says – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 11th, 2012 in consent, data protection, EC law, enforcement, internet, news by sally

“The UK’s data protection watchdog is not likely to take action against the users of data analytics cookies on websites even if they fall foul of new EU rules on cookie consent, it has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 10th April 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Processing images in order to suggest identity of people featured not permissible without consent, privacy watchdog says – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 5th, 2012 in consent, data protection, EC law, internet, news, privacy by sally

Social networking sites need to obtain users’ ‘informed consent’ before suggesting to other users that those individuals feature in photos that they are uploading to the site, an EU privacy watchdog has said.

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OUT-LAW.com, 4th April 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Details of names and roles of senior council officials involved in recruitment subject to disclosure under FOI, Tribunal rules – OUT-LAW.com

“Councils should be prepared to disclose the names of senior staff members involved in recruiting senior councillors or officials as well as details of the role they played in that recruitment, an Information Rights Tribunal has ruled.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 4th April 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

ICO expects electronically stored personal data to be searchable in order to meet access requirements – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 30th, 2012 in data protection, electronic mail, news by tracey

“Organisations should have the ability to search their computer systems for records of personal data they store and should have transparent policies and practices if they delete that information, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 30th March 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Employers warned against demanding Facebook details from staff – The Guardian

Posted March 27th, 2012 in data protection, employment, news, privacy by sally

“The Information Commissioner’s Office has warned employers in the UK that it would have ‘very serious concerns’ if they were to ask for Facebook login and password details from existing or would-be employees, following reports of such demands in the US.”

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The Guardian, 26th March 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

ICO fines police force after rape victim details found on street – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 16th, 2012 in data protection, fines, news, rape, victims by tracey

“Lancashire Constabulary has become the first UK police force to be fined by the UK data protection watchdog after it lost a document containing information about a 15 year old girl who had been raped.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th March 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Watchdog reduced data protection penalties in 50% of cases, FOI disclosure reveals – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 15th, 2012 in data protection, fines, freedom of information, news, penalties by sally

“The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has reduced fines for organisations that have breached data protection law in half of the cases in which it has issued direct fines, Out-Law.com can reveal.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th March 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

The new EU data protection framework: uniform, prescriptive and ambitious – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted March 5th, 2012 in data protection, EC law, news, privacy by tracey

“These are truly exhilarating times for the data protection world. Viviane Reding’s recent announcement of the Commission’s proposal for a fully harmonised European data protection framework had the connotations of an Olympic opening ceremony – the years of hard work in preparation for this moment, the sense of achievement in the face of challenge and the triumphant belief that something memorable is going to come out of this. Only the big drums and the flame were missing. The jury is now out but this is without a doubt the most significant global legislative development affecting the collection, use and protection of personal information of the past 15 years.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 2nd March 2012

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

 

Regulators may not be able to enforce data protection regime outside of EU, ICO says – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 1st, 2012 in data protection, EC law, enforcement, news by tracey

“Regulators will not be able to hold companies based outside the EU accountable to proposed new data protection laws unless current enforcement mechanisms are changed, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 29th February 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Watchdog bemoans insufficient punishment for data blagging offences – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 29th, 2012 in data protection, fines, fraud, news, ombudsmen, privacy, sentencing by tracey

“Christopher Graham said ‘chicken feed fines’ were insufficient to deter individuals from blagging information and expressed frustration that the ability to issue prison sentences to data blaggers for offences under the Data Protection Act (DPA) has still to be introduced. Blagging is the use of deceit to extract personal data from people or organisations.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 28th February 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

‘Friends’-only postings not subject to ‘right to be forgotten’ rules, Commission says – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 27th, 2012 in data protection, EC law, internet, news, privacy by tracey

“The operators of social networking sites, such as Facebook, would not be obliged to delete every piece of information about individuals that they host under proposed new EU ‘right to be forgotten’ laws, the European Commission has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th February 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

 

Disclosure of some details about senior council officials’ interests legitimate, Tribunal rules – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 24th, 2012 in data protection, local government, news, public interest by tracey

“Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council has been ordered to disclose information relating to the professional interests of senior council members following a ruling by the Information Rights Tribunal.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th February 2012

Source: www.outlaw.com

Data Protection for the 21st Century: The EU Reform Proposals – 11 KBW

Posted February 23rd, 2012 in data protection, EC law, news by sally

“This is the second of two papers summarising the impact of the draft ‘General Data Protection Regulation’ proposed by the European Commission on 25 January 2012, as a replacement for the existing Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC. It follows on from Timothy Pitt-Payne QC’s paper which introduced the proposed Regulation and summarised Chapters I-IV.”

Full story (PDF)

11 KBW, 22nd February 2012

Source: www.11kbw.com

Data Protection: The EU Reform Proposals – 11 KBW

Posted February 23rd, 2012 in data protection, EC law, news by sally

“This paper focuses on the proposed General Data Protection Regulation (and in particular its first four chapters), explaining the background and context of the proposals, and some of their main implications for individuals, and for organisations in the private and public sector that handle personal data.”

Full story (PDF)

11 KBW, 22nd February 2012

Source: www.11kbw.com