Category: Other Information Law

The European Commission has published today a proposal for an “Oyster Card Passenger Name Record (OCPNR) Regulation” to fight serious crime and terrorism before and during the London Olympics. The proposal obliges Transport for London (TfL) to provide EU Member States with data on passengers using London Tube and Bus system whilst at the same time guaranteeing a high level of privacy protection for Olympians and other VIPs. "This proposal for an OCPNR Regulation is an extension of the existing PNR

Like you, I have received my 2011 census form from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The cover page prominently states, in bold, “Your personal information is protected by law. Census information is kept confidential for 100 years”. Like you, perhaps, I have taken this statement at face value. However, preparing for our Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) course, I came across the PIA for the Census (see references). Under the heading “Keeping census records confidential”, the Census PIA states that

 The European Commission has released details as to why it sees the UK Data Protection Act as an improper implementation of Directive 95/46/EC, so much so, that it is considering infraction proceedings. Correspondence between the Commission and the UK Government has been exchanged, and despite the possibility of litigation, very little has been published or explained to MPs or MEPs. Hence the “liberation” of information from the Commission about these infraction proceedings is very timely. It is also the

The hype surrounding the CCTV/ANPR provisions in the Protection of Freedoms Bill is misplaced. In fact, I would argue the Bill’s provision for a Statutory Code of Practice in the CCTV area represents little change on the privacy front, but a huge change in the potential for enhanced surveillance. A statutory code of practice covering CCTV/ANPR is to be produced by the Home Secretary and regulated by a new “Surveillance Camera Commissioner”. The Code’s application is limited to policing bodies

Directives often contain a notification provision which place each Member State under an obligation to report certain activities to the European Commission. Following a FOI request to the Commission, it has emerged that the UK Government has ignored its notification obligations in relation to the Data Protection Directive; this raises the general question of whether notification requirements in Directives are effective. With respect to the processing of sensitive personal data without the consent of the individual concerned  (e.g. processing details

If you are employed in the public sector forget about offences under the Data Protection Act if there is deliberate misuse of personal data. In the absence of a custodial sentence, in more serious cases prosecutors are increasingly opting for the blunt instrument that is the common law offence of 'malfeasance in public office'. The offence does not need "personal data" or a computer or even an official secret – all it needs is a public official to be caught

Yesterday, the final salvoes in the protracted legal battle over the tabloid exposure of Max Mosely’s romp with five prostitutes were fired at the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg. The outcome will determine whether there is a structural failure in the UK law which will be corrected if the press have to notify an individual under investigation, if details about that individual are about to appear on the front pages. This Blog reports on some of the arguments raised by

At the moment, we are all being bombarded with numbers associated with New Labour’s financial legacy. Well there is another number which reveals a further legacy of the last administration. Under New Labour, for each UK citizen in the last year (i.e. you), there was a 1 in 50 chance that your communications could have been accessed by the law enforcement and national security authorities. This translates into a “Governmental Annual Surveillance Probability” (known as the “GASP”) of at least

Yesterday, the Chief Constable of West Midlands went on TV to apologise for its plans to undertake comprehensive and overt CCTV surveillance of all cars and individuals who entered or left the Sparkhill area of Birmingham. This apology is even though “No cameras associated with the Project have ever been used” and the publication of an investigation into “Project Champion” by the Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police (see references for details). Having read the report, I think Project Champion

Last week, the Government published its ideas as to how it would implement the changes to EU Directive 2002/58/EC. In relation to spammers and behavioural advertising it has decided to keep the low privacy standards that were acceptable to the previous New Labour government. The changes discussed in the consultation (see references) are modifications to Directive 2002/58/EC introduced by the need to implement Directive 2009/136/EC. These new provisions have to be brought into UK law by 25th May next year