Come and visit Manchester’s latest exhibition “Our Lives, Our Privacy” to celebrate the ICO’s 40th anniversary

It’s 1984 and nestled away on Charles Street, Manchester, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has been founded - responsible for overseeing a new law to uphold people’s privacy rights when sharing their personal information.    

Fast forward 40 years, we are reminding those living in Manchester just how important these rights still are, with an informative exhibition you won’t want to miss.   

Titled ‘Our Lives, Our Privacy’ and housed at Manchester Central Library, our 40th anniversary exhibition remembers key moments in history when people’s right to privacy or access to information has been affected – positively or negatively – and explains the role we played protecting your rights, whether or not you realised the regulator was by your side.   

Information Commissioner, John Edwards, said:

“Over the past four decades, the ICO has been a constant factor when it comes to empowering people about their information rights.    

“Data protection isn’t about processes or planning, spreadsheets or systems. Data protection is personal. Our information represents us - our lives, our stories, our relationships.   

 “Whether it’s the details you share with your doctor, your bank, your gym - we all have information we expect to be kept private. Forty years ago, that expectation was set out in law. Today, the ICO continues to uphold that law, offer advice, push for change and stand-up during scandals.   

“This exhibition showcases the role we have played – and continue to play - in protecting people and supporting innovation of new technology and services and I look forward to what the future may bring.”   

See the exhibition in Manchester   

A digital exhibition featuring 40 items that tells the tale of how privacy has been at the centre of some of the biggest events and milestones we remember over the past four decades was launched last Autumn, but now a physical exhibition has come to Manchester.    

From 2 April to 30 June, we will be displaying the exhibition at Manchester Central Library in the first-floor exhibition space. Members of the public are welcome to pop in and see the items that have shaped our lives and our privacy.   

The ‘Our Lives, Our Privacy’ exhibition highlights poignant events in history including the launch of social media, the News of the World phone hacking scandal and the Covid 19 pandemic to name a few. It also looks at technological advancements like smart devices and raising questions about the future, including how accurate the episodes of ‘Black Mirror’ really are.    

So come and take a look before it’s gone!