News, blogs and speeches

Blog: Privacy and Innovation - Lessons learnt from the FCA TechSprint

16 October 2019, Blog

I’ve found there’s often a misconception that regulation seeks to stifle innovation and that the role of regulators is to add layers of red tape.

Enabling access, erasure, and rectification rights in AI systems

15 October 2019, Blog

Reuben Binns, our Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence (AI), discusses the challenges organisations may face in implementing mechanisms in AI systems that allow data subjects to exercise their rights of access, rectification and erasure

ICO raids business suspected of illegal pension cold calls

03 October 2019, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) searched a business premises in Chichester today as part of an investigation into the making of nuisance calls related to pensions.

International Day for the Universal Access to Information 2019

28 September 2019, Statement

Today marks the annual commemoration of the 'International Day for the Universal Access to Information'. This year’s theme is 'Leaving No One Behind!' and looks at how we can ensure innovation and new technologies help broaden access to information.

Dirwy a hysbysiad gorfodi i Superior Style Home Improvements

18 September 2019, News

Mae Swyddfa’r Comisiynydd Gwybodaeth (ICO) wedi rhoi dirwy o £150,000 i gwmni ffenestri dwbl o Abertawe am wneud galwadau niwsans.

Superior Style Home Improvements fined and issued with enforcement notice

17 September 2019, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined a Swansea double-glazing company £150,000 for making nuisance calls.

Privacy attacks on AI models

12 September 2019, Blog

Reuben Binns, our Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Andrew Paterson, Principal Technology Adviser, discuss new security risks associated with AI, whereby the personal data of the people who the system was trained on might be revealed by the system itself.

SMOs must “prepare for all scenarios” to maintain data flows when UK leaves the EU

11 September 2019, News

The ICO has urged businesses to “prepare for all scenarios” as it publishes dedicated guidance to help small and medium sized organisations prepare for the possibility that the UK leaves the European Union with no deal.

Information Commissioner’s Office issues warning about historical personal details accessed through work

05 September 2019, Statement

An ICO investigation into the actions of two former Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers has concluded.

Statement on the High Court judgement on the use of live facial recognition technology by South Wales Police

04 September 2019, Statement

An ICO spokesperson said: "We will be reviewing the judgment carefully. We welcome the court’s finding that the police use of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) systems involves the processing of sensitive personal data of members of the public, requiring compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018. This new and intrusive technology has the potential, if used without the right privacy safeguards, to undermine rather than enhance confidence in the police."

Data minimisation and privacy-preserving techniques in AI systems

21 August 2019, Blog

Reuben Binns, our Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Valeria Gallo, Technology Policy Adviser, discuss some of the techniques organisations can use to comply with data minimisation requirements when adopting AI systems.

Statement: Live facial recognition technology in King's Cross

15 August 2019, Statement

Statement from Elizabeth Denham, Information Commissioner, on the use of live facial recognition technology in King's Cross, London.

Blog: Three top issues for town and parish councils

14 August 2019, Blog

The advent of the GDPR in May 2018 brought new data protection obligations for many organisations. Some of this presented a challenge, particularly for smaller organisations like parish and town councils, who we saw were keen to demonstrate their compliance but needed support to achieve this.

ICO launches consultation on the draft framework code of practice for the use of personal data in political campaigning

09 August 2019, Statement

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is consulting on a new framework code of practice for the use of personal data in political campaigning. The framework code will serve both as…

Protecting children online: update on progress of ICO code

07 August 2019, Blog

In April, I blogged about the ICO’s work to help protect children online. I’m pleased to report that my team and I are making good progress on producing a code that will translate General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements into design standards for online services.

ICO joins international signatories in raising Libra data protection concerns

05 August 2019, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has joined data protection authorities around the world in raising common data protection concerns about the proposed Libra digital currency and infrastructure.

Fully automated decision making AI systems (blogger post)

05 August 2019, Blog

Reuben Binns, our Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Valeria Gallo, Technology Policy Adviser, discuss some of the key safeguards organisations should implement when using solely automated AI systems to make decisions with significant impacts on data subjects.

ICO fines boiler replacement company for thousands of nuisance calls made to TPS subscribers

02 August 2019, News

Making it Easy Ltd has been fined £160,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for making spam calls to people registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS).

Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust update, July 2019

31 July 2019, Statement

In July 2017, following reports concerning the use of Google DeepMind’s Streams application at the Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust, the ICO announced that the processing of personal data within Streams was not compliant with the Data Protection Act 1998 – the relevant data protection law at the time. Having identified several shortcomings with the data processing, the Trust signed an undertaking committing it to bringing the processing into line with data protection laws, including the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

People care more about how their personal data is used. But what aspects cause them most concern?

31 July 2019, Blog

Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham introduces our Annual Track 2019 report.

ICO selects first participants for data protection Sandbox

29 July 2019, News

The use of biometrics to speed up airport passenger journeys, innovations in crime prevention and technological advances in the health sector are among the first projects selected to take part in the ICO Sandbox.

AI Auditing Framework blog: Trade-offs

25 July 2019, Blog

Reuben Binns, our Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Valeria Gallo, Technology Policy adviser, discuss how using AI can require trade-offs between data protection principles, and what organisations can do to assess and balance them.

Estate agency fined £80,000 for failing to keep tenants’ data safe

19 July 2019, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined a London estate agency £80,000 for leaving 18,610 customers' personal data exposed for almost two years.

Former motor industry worker ordered to pay £25,500 from proceeds of data theft

17 July 2019, News

A motor industry employee who was sentenced to six months in prison in November 2018 for accessing personal data without permission, has been ordered to pay a £25,500 confiscation order in a case brought by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

ICO launches consultation on draft data sharing code of practice

16 July 2019, Statement

As required by the Data Protection Act 2018 we are working on updating our Data sharing code of practice, which was originally published in 2011.