News, blogs and speeches

New tool helps small businesses create privacy notices

20 August 2024, News

We have launched a new, quick and easy-to-use tool to help small organisations and sole traders create a bespoke privacy notice and protect people’s information rights.

Porthcawl man sentenced after “brazen” car scam worth hundreds of thousands of pounds

13 August 2024, News

A man who unlawfully accessed personal data has been sentenced after our investigation.

Social media and video sharing platforms put on notice over poor children’s privacy practices

02 August 2024, News

We are calling on 11 social media and video sharing platforms to improve their children’s privacy practices.

ICO reprimands the Electoral Commission after cyber attack compromises servers

30 July 2024, News

We have issued a reprimand to the Electoral Commission after hackers gained access to servers that contained the personal information of approximately 40 million people.

ICO takes action against two organisations for "risking public trust" by failing to respond to public requests for information

29 July 2024, News

We have taken action against two trusted public services after investigations found they’d failed to meet basic information request requirements, as set out under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

Essex school reprimanded after using facial recognition technology for canteen payments

23 July 2024, News

We have issued a reprimand to a school that broke the law when it introduced facial recognition technology (FRT).

Information Commissioner calls for water companies to be crystal clear with public over sewage pollution

15 July 2024, News

Water companies must put transparency first if they want to rebuild public trust, we have warned.

Do I really need to read the privacy notice?

09 July 2024, News

At the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), we are encouraging people to check how an app plans to use their personal information before they sign up.

PSNI facing a £750k fine following spreadsheet error that exposed the personal information of its entire workforce

23 May 2024, News

Data breach brought tangible fear of threat to life

We warn organisations must not ignore data protection risks as we conclude Snap ‘My AI’ chatbot investigation

21 May 2024, News

ICO concludes investigation into Snap’s approach to assessing the data protection risks of its ‘My AI’ chatbot

Car rental manager fined after unlawfully obtaining customer data

16 May 2024, News

A former Management Trainee at Enterprise Rent-A-Car UK Limited ("Enterprise Rent-A-Car") has been ordered to pay a fine after admitting he illegally obtained customer data between 18 March 2019 and 1 April 2019.

Children’s services in Birmingham reprimanded after inappropriately disclosing a child’s personal information

13 May 2024, News

We have issued a reprimand to Birmingham Children's Trust Community Interest Company after the personal information of a child was inappropriately disclosed to another family.

Organisations must do more to combat the growing threat of cyber attacks

10 May 2024, News

We are calling for all organisations to boost their cyber security and protect the personal information they hold, amid the growing threat of cyber attacks. Our own trend data reveals…

Information Commissioner: Persistent sensitive information breaches failing people living with HIV

30 April 2024, News

People living with HIV denied “basic dignity and privacy” by repeated data breaches that disclose their HIV status

ICO yn dirwyo dau gwmni cyfanswm o £340,000 am wneud galwadau marchnata ymosodol a digroeso

24 April 2024, News

Bron 1.43 miliwn o alwadau wedi’u gwneud dros gyfnod o 13 mis

ICO fines two companies a total of £340,000 for making aggressive and unwanted marketing calls

24 April 2024, News

Almost 1.43 million calls made over a 13-month period.

Housing association reprimanded for exposing personal information on online portal

17 April 2024, News

We have issued a reprimand to Clyde Valley Housing Association in Lanarkshire after personal information was accessible to other residents on an online customer portal.

ICO publishes guidance to improve transparency in health and social care

15 April 2024, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is supporting health and social care organisations to ensure they are being transparent with people about how their personal information is being used.

Information Commissioner’s Office seeks views on accuracy of generative AI models

12 April 2024, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has launched the latest instalment in its consultation series examining how data protection law applies to the development and use of generative AI.

ICO joins global data protection and privacy enforcement programme

04 April 2024, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has signed onto a new international multilateral agreement with the Global Cooperation Arrangement for Privacy Enforcement (Global CAPE) to cooperate in cross-border data protection and privacy enforcement.

ICO sets out priorities to protect children's privacy online

03 April 2024, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is calling on social media and video-sharing platforms to improve their data protection practices so children are safer when using their services. This comes as the regulator sets out its 2024-2025 priorities for protecting children's personal information online.

ICO publishes new fining guidance

18 March 2024, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office has published new data protection fining guidance setting out how it decides to issue penalties and calculate fines.

ICO reprimands Dover Harbour Board and Kent Police over information sharing

15 March 2024, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued reprimands to Dover Harbour Board and Kent Police after they breached data protection law.

ICO reprimands London Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime for complaint web form error

14 March 2024, News

Web form to complain about the Metropolitan Police Service accidentally revealed victims' data

ICO fines Wigan-based Pinnacle Life £80,000 for “predatory” spam call campaign

07 March 2024, News

Wigan-based company Pinnacle Life has been fined £80,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for a year-long unlawful spam phone call campaign.

ICO warns charities about direct marketing rules as it orders Penny Appeal to stop sending spam texts

05 March 2024, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has ordered a charity to stop sending unsolicited marketing texts to people without their consent, as it reminds all charities of their legal obligations.

ICO takes regulatory action against five public authorities under the FOI Act

04 March 2024, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has taken action against five public authorities for continued failings to meet their obligations under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

Information Commissioner calls for senior leaders to take transparency seriously

04 March 2024, News

Today, as my office takes further regulatory action against five public organisations for their continued failings to meet their obligations under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, I am writing to remind you that transparency is essential if the people and communities we serve are to have confidence in the way that public services are delivered.

Y Comisiynydd Gwybodaeth yn galw ar uwch arweinwyr i gymryd tryloywder o ddifrif

04 March 2024, News

Heddiw, wrth i'm swyddfa gymryd camau rheoleiddio pellach yn erbyn pedwar sefydliad cyhoeddus am eu methiannau parhaus i gyflawni eu rhwymedigaethau o dan y Ddeddf Rhyddid Gwybodaeth, rwy’n ysgrifennu atoch i'ch atgoffa bod tryloywder yn hanfodol os yw'r bobl a'r cymunedau rydyn ni’n eu gwasanaethu i fod yn hyderus yn y ffordd y mae gwasanaethau cyhoeddus yn cael eu darparu.

ICO reassures employers they can share staff data in a mental health emergency

01 March 2024, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published new guidance to give employers more certainty about sharing their workers’ personal details in a mental health emergency.

ICO reprimands West Midlands Police for data protection failure

01 March 2024, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a reprimand to West Midlands Police (WMP) after the force repeatedly mixed up two people’s personal information.

ICO finds the Home Office’s pilot of GPS electronic monitoring of migrants breached UK data protection law

01 March 2024, News

Home Office pilot scheme failed to assess privacy intrusion of GPS monitoring.

ICO and Federal Communications Commission sign Memorandum of Understanding

29 February 2024, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which formalises their commitment to work together to protect people from unwanted nuisance calls, spam messaging and the misuse of private and sensitive data.

Yr ICO yn galw ar bobl i rannu profiadau wrth gael mynediad at gofnodion gofal, gan addo gwella’r cymorth

28 February 2024, News

Mae Swyddfa'r Comisiynydd Gwybodaeth (ICO) yn galw ar bobl sydd â phrofiad o'r system ofal yn y Deyrnas Unedig i rannu'r heriau maen nhw wedi'u hwynebu wrth gael mynediad at eu cofnodion gofal gan sefydliadau.

ICO calls for people to share experiences accessing care records as it vows to improve support

28 February 2024, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is calling on people with experience of the care system in the UK to share the challenges they have faced when accessing their care records from organisations.

ICO orders Serco Leisure to stop using facial recognition technology to monitor attendance of leisure centre employees

23 February 2024, News

Regulator issues enforcement notices ordering Serco Leisure and community leisure trusts to stop using FRT and fingerprint scanning to monitor workers’ attendance

Information Commissioner’s Office tells platforms to respect information rights when moderating online content

16 February 2024, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is working to support people's information rights online by ensuring organisations understand their data protection obligations when seeking to make…

Practical tips for small beauty and wellbeing businesses this Valentine’s Day

14 February 2024, News

Show your customers you care – about their information rights – this Valentine’s Day.

ICO urges all app developers to prioritise privacy

08 February 2024, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office is reminding all app developers to ensure they protect users’ privacy, following the regulator’s review of period and fertility apps.

New ICO campaign promotes sharing data to safeguard children

29 January 2024, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office is partnering with education, law enforcement and social service organisations to raise awareness about responsible data sharing to protect children from harm.

ICO fines financial services company £50k for spam text messages

19 January 2024, News

Financial services company LADH Limited has been fined £50,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for sending tens of thousands of spam text messages, in breach of Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).

ICO publishes updated Commissioner’s Opinion on age assurance for the Children’s code

18 January 2024, News

New Opinion gives clarity to organisations on how to comply with age assurance

Two home improvement companies fined a total of £250,000 for making illegal marketing calls

16 January 2024, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined two home improvement companies a total of £250,000 for bombarding people on the UK’s ‘do not call’ register with millions of unlawful marketing calls.

Information Commissioner’s Office launches consultation series on generative AI

15 January 2024, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has launched a consultation series on generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), examining how aspects of data protection law should apply to the development and use of the technology.

ICO fines HelloFresh £140,000 for spam texts and emails

12 January 2024, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined food delivery company HelloFresh £140,000 for a campaign of 79 million spam emails and 1 million spam texts over a seven-month period.

Information Commissioner’s Office MBE awards in the King’s New Year Honours List

30 December 2023, News

ICO Deputy Chief Executive, Paul Arnold and Senior Independent Director, Nicola Wood have been awarded MBEs in the King’s New Year Honours List. Paul Arnold receives his award for services to…

“We are not seeing the improvement both we and the public need” – ICO issues enforcement notice to GMP over transparency failures

20 December 2023, News

Enforcement notice issued to Greater Manchester Police over failure to clear Freedom of Information backlog

Bank of Ireland UK reprimanded for inaccurate data on customers’ accounts

15 December 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued Bank of Ireland UK with a reprimand for mistakes made on more than 3,000 customers’ credit profiles.

ICO fines Ministry of Defence for Afghan evacuation data breach

13 December 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined the Ministry of Defence (MoD) £350,000 for disclosing personal information of people seeking relocation to the UK shortly after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021.

Two new employment guidance pieces out for consultation

12 December 2023, News

We are producing an online resource with topic-specific guidance on employment practices and data protection. We are releasing our drafts of the different topic areas in stages and adding to the resource over time, and two new pieces of guidance are now out for public consultation.

Court of Appeal ruling on immigration exemption brings ‘greater empathy’ - Commissioner

11 December 2023, News

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the government must make changes to the immigration exemption in the Data Protection Act 2018 to make it clearer.

UK Information Commissioner warns against 2024 becoming the year people lose trust in AI

06 December 2023, News

UK Information Commissioner, John Edwards, will today warn that 2024 could be the year people lose trust in AI – and call on tech developers to embed privacy into their products from the very start.

ICO reprimands council for disclosing domestic abuse victim’s details to ex-partner

29 November 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a reprimand to Charnwood Borough Council after it disclosed the new address of a domestic abuse victim to her ex-partner.

Hospitals urged to improve data protection standards following incident at NHS Fife

28 November 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a reprimand to NHS Fife, after an unauthorised person was able to enter a ward and access the personal information of 14 patients.

Former NHS secretary found guilty of illegally accessing medical records

17 November 2023, News

A former NHS employee has been found guilty and fined for illegally accessing the medical records of over 150 people.

‘Be smarter than your smart tech’ – ICO issues top tips for consumers buying smart devices on Black Friday

15 November 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has shared its top tips to support consumers shopping smart tech this Black Friday.

ICO and European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) sign Memorandum of Understanding

08 November 2023, News

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which reinforces their common mission to uphold individuals’ data protection and privacy rights, and cooperate internationally to achieve this goal.

Information Commissioner’s Office issues three fines totalling £170,000 for illegal direct marketing

02 November 2023, News

Three companies offering financial services have been fined £170,000 collectively by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for illegal direct marketing under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).

ICO reprimands University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust for lost referrals

30 October 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a reprimand to Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust after a computer system caused some patient referrals to be delayed or lost altogether.

ICO seeks Sandbox entrants for 2024

13 October 2023, News

Organisations have until the end of this year to submit expressions of interest in entering the ICO’s Regulatory Sandbox in 2024.

Court of Appeal rules ICO acted lawfully in subject access request complaint litigation

10 October 2023, News

The UK Information Commissioner has welcomed the Court of Appeal’s ruling on a long-running court battle over a subject access request complaint.

UK Information Commissioner issues preliminary enforcement notice against Snap

06 October 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued Snap, Inc and Snap Group Limited (Snap) with a preliminary enforcement notice over potential failure to properly assess the privacy risks posed by Snap’s generative AI chatbot ‘My AI’.

ICO publishes guidance to ensure lawful monitoring in the workplace

03 October 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is calling on organisations to consider both their legal obligations and their workers’ rights before they implement any monitoring in the workplace.

Information Commissioner calls on public authorities to stop using spreadsheets in FOI responses

28 September 2023, News

Advice comes following recent high profile data breaches.

Data breaches put domestic abuse victims’ lives at risk, UK Information Commissioner warns

27 September 2023, News

Warning comes after the ICO reprimands seven organisations in the past 14 months for data breaches affecting victims of domestic abuse.

“This needs to be dealt with.” - ICO issues Enforcement Notice to City of York Council over FOI backlog

21 September 2023, News

Information Commissioner issues Enforcement Notice relating to backlog of 261 FOI requests

ICO issues half a million pounds in new fines as fight to tackle illegal nuisance calls continues

20 September 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued fines totalling £590,000 to five companies for collectively making 1.9 million unwanted marketing calls which targeted the elderly and people with vulnerabilities.

Share information to protect children and young people at risk, urges UK Information Commissioner

14 September 2023, News

Organisations will not get in trouble if they share information to protect children and young people at risk of serious harm, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has promised.

Former social services council employee fined for unlawfully accessing sensitive personal data

13 September 2023, News

A former family intervention officer at St Helens Borough Council has been sentenced for unlawfully accessing social services records.

ICO to review period and fertility tracking apps as poll shows more than half of women are concerned over data security

07 September 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is reviewing period and fertility apps as new figures show more than half of women have concerns over data security.

ICO publishes new guidance on sending bulk communications by email

30 August 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has today issued a warning to organisations to use alternatives to the blind carbon copy (BCC) email function when sending emails containing sensitive personal information, following a catalogue of business blunders.

Joint statement on data scraping and data protection

24 August 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office and eleven other data protection and privacy authorities from around the world have today published a joint statement calling for the protection of people’s personal data from unlawful data scraping taking place on social media sites.

One in three young people falling prey to ‘text pests’ as ICO calls for victims to come forward

22 August 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has today launched a call for victims of so-called ‘text pests’ to come forward to help the regulator gather evidence of the impact of this illegal behaviour.

ICO consultation on the draft biometric data guidance

18 August 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is producing guidance on biometric data and biometric technologies.

“We are continuing to deliver for the public” – ICO publishes practice recommendations and enforcement notices on FOI

10 August 2023, News

The ICO has today published action on five public bodies – Liverpool City Council, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, the Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, the Ministry of Defence and the Environment Agency - for failures to meet expected standards in responding to Freedom of Information Act requests.

ICO and CMA: Harmful online design encourages consumers to hand over personal information

09 August 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are calling for businesses to stop using harmful website designs that can trick consumers into giving up more of their personal data than they would like.

‘Hang up, report them to us – you don’t owe nuisance callers your time’

02 August 2023, News

ICO advice to people receiving cold calls, as government looks to ban cold calls on financial products.

ICO warns of email data breach risk as it issues two reprimands

02 August 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office has reprimanded two Northern Irish organisations for disclosing people’s information inappropriately via email.

ICO reprimands NHS Lanarkshire for sharing patient data via WhatsApp

01 August 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a reprimand to NHS Lanarkshire, following staff’s unauthorised use of WhatsApp to share patients’ personal data over the course of two years.

ICO backs new data sharing schemes to protect gamblers from harm

13 July 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has today backed proposals for the financial sector to share data with gambling companies to protect customers from unaffordable losses.

ICO Sandbox publishes exit report following work with the Betting and Gaming Council to reduce incidents of gambling related harm

13 July 2023, News

The ICO’s Regulatory Sandbox aims to support organisations who are creating products and services which utilise personal data in innovative and safe ways. The Betting and Gaming Council entered the Sandbox to explore the gambling industry’s development and trial of a Single Customer View (SCV) solution. The trial built on the work previously undertaken by the Gambling Commission within the Sandbox in 2021. The SCV solution developed by the BGC and the participating operators (Entain, William Hill, 888, Gamesys, Bet365 and Flutter) aims to enable a more unified and proactive intervention by gambling operators to reduce incidents of gambling related harm. Following the completion of the Sandbox pilot, the data-sharing project – now known as GamProtect – will be implemented across the gambling industry with support from the Betting and Gaming Council.

ICO submits Data protection and journalism code of practice to the Secretary of State

06 July 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published a code of practice about using personal information for journalism (the code), and formally submitted it to the Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

“They are failing their residents.” - ICO takes action against Croydon Council for failing to respond to Freedom of Information requests

30 June 2023, News

Council hit with enforcement notice for “repeated, systemic” failures on information law.

ICO urges organisations to harness the power of data safely by using privacy enhancing technologies

19 June 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is recommending organisations to start using privacy enhancing technologies (PETs) to share people’s personal information safely, securely and anonymously.

Don’t be blind to AI risks in rush to see opportunity – ICO reviewing key businesses’ use of generative AI

15 June 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) will today call for businesses to address the privacy risks generative AI can bring before rushing to adopt the technology – with tougher checks on whether organisations are compliant with data protection laws.

Two energy firms fined combined £250,000 for making unlawful marketing calls

08 June 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined two energy companies a total of £250,000 for bombarding people and businesses on the UK’s ‘do not call’ register with unlawful marketing calls.

ICO warns of “real danger” of discrimination in new technologies that monitor the brain

08 June 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office is warning that newly emerging neurotechnologies risk discriminating against people if those groups are not put at the heart of their development.

ICO reprimands Thames Valley Police for releasing witness details to suspected criminals

02 June 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a reprimand to Thames Valley Police (TVP) after details were released which led to suspected criminals learning the address of a witness.

ICO issues Ministry of Justice with reprimand after confidential personal information left in prison holding area

24 May 2023, News

The ICO has issued a formal reprimand to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) after confidential waste documents were left in an unsecured prison holding area.

“It’s important not to get caught out.” - New SARs guidance for employers issued

24 May 2023, News

ICO publishes new guide on responding to subject access requests

ICO fines two businesses £180,000 for making unlawful marketing calls

16 May 2023, News

The Information Commissioners’ Office (ICO) has issued fines totalling £180,000 for two companies that made more than 480,000 unlawful marketing calls to businesses signed up with the UK’s “Do not call” register.

ICO takes action against both Plymouth City Council and Norfolk County Council for failing to respond to information access requests

15 May 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has reprimanded two councils that have failed to respond to the public when asked for personal information held about them – known as a Subject Access Request (SAR).

ICO takes action against Shropshire Council for failing to respond to Freedom of Information requests

09 May 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued an enforcement notice to Shropshire Council for its poor handling of requests made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.

ICO launches FOI toolkit topic to help public bodies deal with vexatious requests

25 April 2023, News

Continuing with its commitment to improving freedom of information (FOI) services, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has launched the third topic in its FOI toolkit to enable public authorities to self-assess how they deal with vexatious requests.

ICO reprimands Surrey Police and Sussex Police for recording more than 200,000 phone calls without people’s knowledge

18 April 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a reprimand to both Surrey Police and Sussex Police, following the rollout of an app that recorded phone conversations and unlawfully captured personal data.

Online recruitment firm fined £130,000 for sending 107 million spam emails targeting jobseekers

14 April 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined Join The Triboo Limited £130,000 for what it called a “egregious” violation of the law.

ICO Sandbox publishes its exit report following work with ‘Good With’ – a startup aiming to give young adults fairer access to financial products and services

04 April 2023, News

Good With, a fintech and edtech start-up, entered the Sandbox as part of its work to develop mobile applications which will help educate young adults on personal finance. It plans to develop a Financial Virtual Assistant (FVA) app which will combine various personal data sources to produce a ‘financial readiness score’. Good With hopes this readiness score will help to provide the FVA’s users (18-24-year-olds), who might struggle to obtain credit via traditional methods, with fairer access to financial products and services. The app is currently still in a beta testing phase.

ICO fines TikTok £12.7 million for misusing children’s data

04 April 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a £12,700,000 fine to TikTok Information Technologies UK Limited and TikTok Inc (TikTok) for a number of breaches of data protection law, including failing to use children’s personal data lawfully.

“A crucial learning experience.” - ICO calls for highest standards in HIV services after NHS Highland reprimand

30 March 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office has issued a reprimand to NHS Highland for a “serious breach of trust” after a data breach involving those likely to be accessing HIV services.

ICO to prioritise Freedom of Information complaints with significant public interest

28 March 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has announced a new approach to prioritise complaints made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) where there is significant public interest.

ICO takes action against Lewisham Council for failing to respond to hundreds of Freedom of Information requests

22 March 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued an enforcement notice to the London Borough of Lewisham Council for failing to respond to hundreds of overdue requests made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.

ICO issues reprimand to the Metropolitan Police Service for inadequate handling of files related to organised crime groups

16 March 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a reprimand to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) following several issues identified around their uploading, amending and deleting of various criminal intelligence files relating to Organised Crime Groups (OCG).

ICO reaches agreement with Easylife Ltd

16 March 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has reached an agreement with Easylife Ltd (Easylife) to reduce the monetary penalty notice (MPN), issued for breaching the Data Protection Act 2018, to £250,000.

ICO shares resources to help designers embed data protection by default

13 March 2023, News

The ICO has produced new guidance to help UX designers, product managers and software engineers embed data protection into their products and services from the start.

ICO and Australian Communications and Media Authority sign Memorandum of Understanding

03 March 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which formalises their commitment to work together on protecting people from unwanted nuisance calls and spam messaging.

ICO publishes SME Data Essentials pilot evaluation report

28 February 2023, News

The ICO is here to help SMEs unlock the value of the personal information they hold, responsibly.

Information Commissioner's Office calls for accountants to play their role in SMEs data protection compliance

22 February 2023, News

Regulator publishes key questions for accountants to ask SME clients to ensure they get data protection compliance right.

Tribunal rules on Experian appeal against ICO action

20 February 2023, News

The First-Tier Tribunal (Information Rights) has ruled on the ICO’s action to require Experian Limited to change how it handles people’s personal data. The Judgment supported aspects of the ICO's decision, while allowing Experian's appeal in other areas.

Former 111 call centre advisor fined for illegally accessing medical records

17 February 2023, News

A former 111 call centre advisor has been found guilty and fined for illegally accessing the medical records of a child and his family.

Business fined £200,000 for making over 1.7million unlawful calls

16 February 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has today fined It’s OK Ltd £200,000 for what it called a “sustained and exploitative campaign” of nuisance calls.

New guidance to industry issued for game developers on protecting children

16 February 2023, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office sets the standard for ensuring games conform with data protection law. 93% of UK children play video games. Games providers should identify if their…

Former RAC employee fined for stealing data of victims of road traffic incidents

01 February 2023, News

A former employee of breakdown services company RAC has plead guilty and been fined for the stealing of data of victims of road traffic accidents.

Building better business by responsibly unlocking the value of personal information

23 January 2023, News

ICO offers advice to the UK’s five and a half million SMEs

Empowering people to foster trust in tomorrow’s technological advancements

20 January 2023, News

The ICO is encouraging developers to consider privacy at an early stage when implementing new technologies to maintain public trust and confidence.

Five businesses fined a total of £435,000 for making nearly half a million unlawful marketing calls

07 December 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined five companies a total of £435,000 for making nearly half a million unlawful marketing calls to people registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS).

ICO launches consultation on how it prioritises FOI complaints

08 November 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has launched a consultation on how it prioritises the complaints it receives about public bodies’ handling of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.

Department for Education warned after gambling companies benefit from learning records database

06 November 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a reprimand to the Department for Education (DfE) following the prolonged misuse of the personal information of up to 28 million children.

ICO and Cabinet Office reach agreement on New Year Honours data breach fine

03 November 2022, News

The UK Information Commissioner has agreed to reduce the £500,000 Monetary Penalty Notice (MPN) imposed on the Cabinet Office in 2021 in relation to the New Year Honours data breach to £50,000, which the Cabinet Office has agreed to pay, reflecting our new approach to working more effectively with public authorities

‘Immature biometric technologies could be discriminating against people’ says ICO in warning to organisations

26 October 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is warning organisations to assess the public risks of using emotion analysis technologies , before implementing these systems. Organisations that do not act responsibly, posing risks to vulnerable people, or fail to meet ICO expectations will be investigated.

‘Biggest cyber risk is complacency, not hackers’ - UK Information Commissioner issues warning as construction company fined £4.4 million

24 October 2022, News

The UK Information Commissioner has warned that companies are leaving themselves open to cyber attack by ignoring crucial measures like updating software and training staff.

Home Office warned after sensitive documents left at London venue

07 October 2022, News

The ICO has issued a formal reprimand to the Home Office, after sensitive documents were found at a public London venue.

Catalogue retailer Easylife fined £1.48 million for breaking data protection and electronic marketing laws

06 October 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined Easylife Ltd £1,350,000 for using personal information of 145,400 customers to predict their medical condition and target them with health-related products without their consent.

ICO fines four firms targeting people with home improvement predatory marketing calls

03 October 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined four companies a total of £370,000 for making over 820,000 home improvement predatory marketing calls to people registered with the Telephone Preference Service.

Action taken against SEVEN organisations who failed in their duty to respond to information access requests

28 September 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has taken action against seven organisations who have failed to respond to the public when asked for personal information held about them, known as a Subject Access Request (SAR).

ICO could impose multi-million pound fine on TikTok for failing to protect children’s privacy

26 September 2022, News

TikTok could face a £27 million fine after an ICO investigation found that the company may have breached UK data protection law, failing to protect children’s privacy when using the TikTok platform.

ICO launches second consultation on the draft Data protection and journalism code

21 September 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has launched a second consultation on a draft code of practice about using personal data for journalism (the code).

ICO takes action against two government departments for failing to comply with the Freedom of Information Act 2000

08 September 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued an enforcement notice to the Department for International Trade (DIT) and a practice recommendation to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), for persistent failures to respond to information access requests within the statutory time limit.

ICO publishes guidance on privacy enhancing technologies

07 September 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published draft guidance on privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) to help organisations unlock the potential of data by putting a data protection by design approach into practice.

Halfords fined for sending nearly 500,000 unwanted marketing emails

06 September 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined Halfords Limited £30,000 for sending 498,179 unsolicited marketing emails to people without their consent.

“Children are better protected online in 2022 than they were in 2021” - ICO marks anniversary of Children’s code

02 September 2022, News

The ICO is marking the anniversary of the groundbreaking Children’s code, that has changed how children are treated online.

ICO acting against eight individuals over alleged theft of road traffic accident data from garages

30 August 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has commenced criminal proceedings against eight individuals over the alleged unlawful accessing and obtaining of people’s personal information from vehicle repair garages to generate potential leads for personal injury claims.

Former health adviser found guilty of illegally accessing patient records

05 August 2022, News

A former health adviser has been found guilty of accessing medical records of patients without a valid legal reason.

Five things we learned from DPPC 2022

26 July 2022, News

Last week’s Data Protection Practitioners’ Conference 2022 brought together more than 3,000 data protection professionals from across the country. Didn’t manage to attend? Here’s five things you missed from the day. And look out in coming weeks as we publish videos of the speeches and seminars.

UK Information Commissioner sets out focus on empowering people through information

14 July 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has set out a commitment to safeguard the information rights of the most vulnerable people, including regulatory work around children’s privacy, AI-driven discrimination, the use of algorithms within the benefits system and the impact of predatory marketing calls.

Behind the screens: ICO calls for review into use of private email and messaging apps within government

11 July 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has today called for a government review into the systemic risks and areas for improvement around the use of private correspondence channels – including private email, WhatsApp and other similar messaging apps.

ICO and NCSC stand together against ransomware payments being made

08 July 2022, News

Solicitors are today being asked to play their part in keeping the UK safe online by helping to tackle the rise in organisations paying out to ransomware criminals.

ICO and Personal Information Protection Commission, South Korea, sign Memorandum of Understanding

05 July 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the South Korean Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) have a strong relationship which recognises their shared common mission to uphold people’s information rights, while supporting digital innovation and economic development.

ICO sets out revised approach to public sector enforcement

30 June 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has today set out a revised approach to working more effectively with public authorities.

International data protection and privacy authorities provide guidance against the threat of credential stuffing attacks

28 June 2022, News

Latest report from international data protection and privacy authorities has identified credential stuffing as a significant and growing cyber threat to personal information.

Information Commissioner calls for an end to the excessive collection of personal information from victims of rape and serious sexual assault

31 May 2022, News

The UK Information Commissioner has called on the criminal justice sector to immediately stop collecting excessive amounts of personal information from victims of rape and serious sexual assault cases.

ICO fines facial recognition database company Clearview AI Inc more than £7.5m and orders UK data to be deleted

23 May 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined Clearview AI Inc £7,552,800 for using images of people in the UK, and elsewhere, that were collected from the web and social media to create a global online database that could be used for facial recognition.

ICO fines company for sending thousands of spam text messages during the pandemic

31 March 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined H&L Business Consulting Ltd £80,000 for sending hundreds of thousands of text messages to people who had not consented to receive them.

ICO takes action against companies over predatory marketing calls targeting elderly, vulnerable people

15 March 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) today announced fines totalling £405,000 to five companies responsible for over 750,000 unwanted marketing calls targeted at older, vulnerable people.

ICO reprimands Scottish Government over need to be upfront about NHS Scotland COVID Status app’s use of people’s details

25 February 2022, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a reprimand to the Scottish Government and NHS National Services Scotland over both organisations failure to provide people with clear information about how their personal information - including sensitive health data – is being used by the NHS Scotland COVID Status app.