Privacy Complaints Soar
July 16th, 2010 by adminLast year, the number of privacy complaints made in the UK jumped by more than 30% according to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Similarly, complaints made against public bodies compliance with the Freedom of Information Act increased by 20%.
The ICO has many duties, including to ensure that public organisations observe privacy laws in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) and the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
Each year the ICO issues a report containing data protection analysis. The ICOs recent report unveiled the 30% increase in enquiries regarding the integrity of data protection for 2009-2010. The ICO received more than 30,000 enquiries last year. The ICO is concerned by the volume of complaints received as the rights of individuals to access personal data accounted for 28% of the 30% increase.
Each complaint centered around the focal point that people were concerned about the extent of data disclosed by public bodies, as well as the accuracy of such.
The Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, stated in the report that the ICO was committed to campaigning for stricter penalties for people found guilty of purchasing and selling on others personal information.
The Information Commissioner also reiterated that the ICO ought to be funded using a more transparent approach and should be directly responsible to parliament rather than a government department, as is currently in place.
