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News, blogs and speeches

370 in total

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 helpful…

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.

Speech: The future of online advertising regulation

11 July 2019, Speech

Simon McDougall, Executive Director for Technology Policy and Innovation’s speech at the Westminster Media Forum Keynote Seminar: The future of online advertising regulation.

ICO publishes annual report covering an ‘unprecedented’ year

09 July 2019, News

The public has woken up to the potential of their personal data, the Information Commissioner has said as the ICO’s annual report for 2018-19 was published today.

Intention to fine Marriott International, Inc more than £99 million under GDPR for data breach

09 July 2019, News

Statement in response to Marriott International, Inc’s  filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission  that the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) intends to fine it for breaches of data protection law.

Statement: Intention to fine Marriott International, Inc more than £99 million under GDPR for data breach

09 July 2019, Statement

Statement in response to Marriott International, Inc’s filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) intends to fine it for breaches of data protection law.

Blog: Live facial recognition technology - data protection law applies

09 July 2019, Blog

Any organisation using software that can recognise a face amongst a crowd then scan large databases of people to check for a match in a matter of seconds, is processing personal data.

Intention to fine British Airways £183.39m under GDPR for data breach

08 July 2019, Statement

Statement in response to an announcement to the London Stock Exchange that the ICO intends to fine British Airways for breaches of data protection law

Intention to fine British Airways £183.39m under GDPR for data breach

08 July 2019, News

Statement in response to an announcement to the London Stock Exchange that the ICO intends to fine British Airways for breaches of data protection law.   Following an extensive investigation the…

Blog: Developing the ICO AI Auditing Framework: an update

04 July 2019, Blog

Simon McDougall, Executive Director for Technology and Innovation reflects on the progress made in developing the ICO approach to auditing Artificial Intelligence (AI), and some of the broad themes emerging from the feedback received so far.

Blog: Cookies – what does ‘good’ look like?

03 July 2019, Blog

Since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect last May, there has been a great deal of interest in how it applies to cookies and similar technologies.

Former company director believed to have profited by more than £1.4 million after selling personal data illegally

28 June 2019, News

A former company director found guilty of illegally obtaining people’s personal data and selling it to solicitors chasing personal injury claims, has been fined for breaches of data protection and issued with a confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

ICO searches Liverpool addresses as part of investigation into suspected illegal acquisition and sale of personal data

27 June 2019, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has today (27 June) searched two addresses in Liverpool, as part of an ongoing investigation into the acquisition and sale of illegally obtained personal data.

ICO’s access to information strategy calls for better compliance by public authorities backed up with enforcement action

27 June 2019, News

The ICO has today published ‘Openness by Design’ , its new access to information strategy. The strategy sets out five goals relating to the suite of access to information legislation regulated by…

Human bias and discrimination in AI systems

25 June 2019, Blog

Blogger post: As part of our AI auditing framework blog series, Reuben Binns, our Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Valeria Gallo, Technology Policy adviser, look at how AI can play a part in maintaining or amplifying human biases and discrimination.

Blog: Supporting people accessing their data from the police

25 June 2019, Blog

Anyone in the UK has the legal right to find out what information is held about them by organisations and ask for a copy free of charge within one calendar month. This is known as a subject access request (SAR).

ICO fines telecoms company EE Limited for sending unlawful text messages

24 June 2019, News, Online technology and telecoms

The ICO has fined telecoms company EE Limited £100,000 for sending over 2.5 million direct marketing messages to its customers, without consent.

Statement on Eurofins Scientific

21 June 2019, Statement

Statement from ICO Deputy Commissioner for Operations, James Dipple-Johnstone.

Blog: ICO Adtech update report published following industry engagement

20 June 2019, Blog

In recent months we’ve been reviewing how personal data is used in real time bidding (RTB) in programmatic advertising, engaging with key stakeholders directly and via our fact-finding forum event to understand the views and concerns of those involved.

ICO joins the UK Regulators Network

19 June 2019, Statement

The ICO has joined the UK Regulators Network (UKRN) as a full member.

ICO fines home security company for making thousands of nuisance calls

13 June 2019, News, Land or property services

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined Smart Home Protection Ltd £90,000 for making nuisance calls to people registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS).

Former customer services officer fined after unlawfully accessing personal data

07 June 2019, News

A former customer services officer at Stockport Homes Limited (SHL) has been found guilty of unlawfully accessing personal data without a legitimate reason to do so.

G20 Side Event - International Seminar on Personal Data

04 June 2019, Speech

Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham's speech at the G20 Side Event - International Seminar on Personal Data in Tokyo on 3 June 2019.

Blog: Counting the cost of accessing environmental information

03 June 2019, Blog

At the beginning of May, Parliament declared a ‘climate change emergency’ and concerns about the environment make news headlines almost every day. So it’s more important than ever that people are able to get the information they need to take part in informed debates.

When it comes to explaining AI decisions, context matters

03 June 2019, Blog

Blogger post:  Alex Hubbard, Senior Policy Officer at the ICO, looks at some of the key themes identified in the ICO and The Alan Turing Institute’s interim report about explanations of AI decisions.

GDPR - one year on

30 May 2019, Blog

Last May marked a seismic shift in privacy and information rights with the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Work begins on creating ICO Sandbox short list as application period closes

28 May 2019, Blog

Applications for the   ICO Sandbox   have now closed and we have had a fantastic response, with 64 submissions received in total.

Known security risks exacerbated by AI

23 May 2019, Blog

We would like to hear your views on how known security risks can be exacerbated by AI. We welcome any feedback on our current thinking. 

9th European Data Protection Days

20 May 2019, Speech

Deputy Commissioner (Policy) Steve Wood's speech at the 9th European Data Protection Days conference in Berlin on 20 May 2019. Original script may differ from delivered version. It’s a…

Blog: Data protection doesn’t take a day off

10 May 2019, Blog

Last year we began taking action against organisations for non-payment of the data protection fee, sending out a clear message that those who didn’t pay risked a fine.

Blog: Using biometric data in a fair, transparent and accountable manner

10 May 2019, Blog

As technology takes ever greater strides, so organisations and businesses are harnessing its capabilities to help manage their contact with customers, including using it for means of identification and authentication.

Helping people be data aware

08 May 2019, News

Today the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is launching the ‘Be Data Aware’ campaign to help people understand how organisations might be using their data to target them online, and how people can control who is targeting them.

ICO fines PPI claims company £120,000 for millions of nuisance texts

07 May 2019, News

The ICO has fined a PPI claims management company £120,000 for sending unlawful spam texts about its services.