1 6 July 2004

News:

Embattled Marks & Spencer CEO, Stuart Rose, has reportedly filed a subject access request with MMO2, the mobile telephone operator, after fears of unauthorised access to his mobile phone records.

The Bichard Inquiry Report, which was published on 22 June, has made clear that the Data Protection Act 1998 did not oblige the Humberside Police to destroy records.

FOI practitioners will join data protection managers and lawyers at a half-day seminar in London on 9 September which focuses on ‘Getting ready for Freedom of Information’.

Features:

I am not trying to get emotional here, but most of us will remember the days before Christmas 2003 as a turning point for the impact of data protection law on every day life. Suddenly, something that was normally seen as incredibly boring and complex was a matter of national controversy. Was data protection law to blame for the destruction of valuable information about Ian Huntley and ultimately the cause of two murders? Was data protection the reason why two elderly citizens had perished from hypothermia? Let me tell you, lawyers tend to be cautious people, but I saw quite a few showing their frustration in public in the face of such outrageous and incredibly nonsensical stories.

The Freedom of Information Act is not just about the public sector - private companies with public sector customers should be planning now how to protect their businesses from the Act’s far-reaching disclosure requirements.

This article examines the role of the Information Commissioner in the fall-out following the Durant judgement and asks whether the Commissioner’s advice on subject access can do anything more than complicate matters.

Consumer trust is all-important argues New York-based privacy consultant Alan Chapell as he considers the commercial pitfalls of unethical data collection practices.

The Information Commissioner has made a formal submission to the Parliamentary Home Affairs Committee inquiry into Identity Cards. This article reproduces the written evidence from the Information Commissioner’s Office.

On May 1 2004, ten countries joined the European Union as new Member States. While the media focused mostly on the radical transformation of the EU’s geographical boundaries, the impact on the EU’s data protection regime was no less significant.

Since 25 June 2004 companies in the UK have been able to register with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and opt out from receiving unsolicited sales and marketing calls. Now any organisations engaged in commercial telemarketing need to consult the TPS for both individuals and companies, to ensure that they do not make unsolicited calls to those who have opted out.