News, blogs and speeches

BT fined £77,000 by the ICO for five million spam emails

20 June 2018, News

British Telecommunications plc (BT) has been fined £77,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office after it sent nearly five million nuisance emails to customers.

Gloucestershire Police fined for revealing identities of abuse victims in bulk email

13 June 2018, News

Gloucestershire Police has been fined £80,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) after sending a bulk email that identified victims of non-recent child abuse.

ICO statement in response to Dixons Carphone breach announcement

13 June 2018, Statement

ICO statement in response to Dixons Carphone breach announcement.

Yahoo! fined £250,000 after systemic failures put customer data at risk

12 June 2018, News

Yahoo! UK Services Limited has been fined £250,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) following a cyber-attack in November 2014.

Standing up for the data rights of our citizens - ICO fines Yahoo! UK Services Limited £250,000 after it failed to protect customers’ personal data

12 June 2018, Blog

James Dipple-Johnstone, ICO Deputy Commissioner of Operations, says that while data protection law might now have changed, the case still provides important lessons for organisations in terms of protecting the public’s personal information and their legal rights.

Statement in response to publication of the Royal Free audit report

12 June 2018, Statement

Statement from Steve Wood, Deputy Commissioner (Policy).

Bible Society fined £100,000 after security failings put supporters’ personal data at risk

08 June 2018, News

The British and Foreign Bible Society, based in Swindon, has been fined £100,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office, after their computer network was compromised as the result of a cyber-attack in 2016.

Consumer data: Statement in response to Which? report

05 June 2018, News

Statement from Steve Wood, Deputy Commissioner (Policy) at the ICO, in response to the launch of a report by Which? called Control, Alt or Delete? The future of consumer data.

Statement in response to new plans for nuisance call directors to face fines

30 May 2018, Statement

Statement from Steve Wood, Deputy Commissioner (Policy), in response to Government plans to introduce fines for company directors heading up nuisance call firms.

New data protection laws put people first

25 May 2018, News

Today (25 May) marks the biggest change to UK data protection law in a generation.

Beyond 2018 – data protection laws built to last

23 May 2018, Blog

Elizabeth Denham welcomes the new Data Protection Act 2018 alongside the GDPR. Organisations and data protection professionals could use this as an introduction to the new Act.

Former recruitment consultant prosecuted for stealing personal data from his old employer

21 May 2018, News

A former recruitment consultant has been fined for unlawfully taking personal data from his employer when he left his job to set up his own rival business.

The University of Greenwich fined £120,000 by Information Commissioner for “serious” security breach

21 May 2018, News

The University of Greenwich has been fined £120,000 by the Information Commissioner following a “serious” security breach involving the personal data of nearly 20,000 people - among them students and staff.

CPS fined £325,000 after losing victim interview videos

17 May 2018, News

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has been fined £325,000 by the ICO after they lost unencrypted DVDs containing recordings of police interviews.

Blog: facial recognition technology

14 May 2018, Blog

Blog: raising the bar - consent under GDPR

09 May 2018, Blog

ICO serves Enforcement Notice on SCL Elections Ltd over inadequate response to subject access request

05 May 2018, News

The ICO has served a legal notice on SCL Elections Ltd ordering it give an academic all the personal information the company holds about him.

Blog: new regulatory powers for the digital age

04 May 2018, Blog

ICO consults on how it will use increased powers under upcoming data protection reform

04 May 2018, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office has launched a consultation to gather the views of stakeholders and the public on the way it plans to regulate new data protection laws.

ICO statement: investigation into data analytics for political purposes

02 May 2018, Statement

UPDATE: Wednesday 2 May 2018, 9:00pm An ICO spokesperson said : "The ICO has been investigating the SCL Group and Cambridge Analytica as part of a wider investigation into the use of…

Stockport firms fined for nuisance calls and spam texts

01 May 2018, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office has fined two firms in Stockport for disrupting the public with nuisance marketing.

Former hospital worker prosecuted for inappropriately accessing patient records

23 April 2018, News

A former employee of a Milton Keynes hospital trust has been prosecuted for accessing patient records without authorisation.

West Yorkshire firms fined for nuisance calls to TPS subscribers

18 April 2018, News

Two firms in West Yorkshire have been fined by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for calling people registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS).

IAPP Europe Data Protection Intensive 2018

18 April 2018, Speech

Elizabeth Denham's keynote speech at the IAPP Europe Data Protection Intensive 2018, London, 18 April 2018.

Kensington and Chelsea Council fined for identifying owners of unoccupied properties in FOI response

16 April 2018, News

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has been fined £120,000 by the Information ICO after it unlawfully identified 943 people who owned vacant properties in the borough.

April e-newsletter out now

13 April 2018, News

The April edition of the ICO e-newsletter is out now.

Building the cyber security community

12 April 2018, Speech

Elizabeth Denham's speech at the National Cyber Security Centre's CYBERUK 2018 event, Manchester Central, 12 April 2018.

Data Protection Practitioners’ Conference 2018

09 April 2018, Speech

Deputy Commissioner - Operations James Dipple-Johnstone spoke at the DPPC about the ICO’s Regulatory Action Policy.

Data Protection Practitioners’ Conference 2018

09 April 2018, Speech

Elizabeth Denham’s speech at the Data Protection Practitioners’ Conference on 9 April 2018.

ICO welcomes data protection practitioners to 11th annual conference as privacy dominates global news agenda

08 April 2018, News

The Information Commissioner says recent events have demonstrated that data protection and privacy are now more important to the UK public than ever before. Elizabeth Denham was speaking ahead of…

Royal Mail fined £12,000 after sending more than 300,000 nuisance emails

06 April 2018, News

Royal Mail Group Ltd has been fined £12,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) after sending more than 300,000 nuisance emails.

Warning to police staff as force fined £130,000 for losing rape victim interview

05 April 2018, News

Humberside Police has been fined £130,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) after disks containing a video interview of an alleged rape victim went missing.

Former housing worker convicted by jury of data protection offences

29 March 2018, News

A former housing worker who shared a confidential report identifying a potential vulnerable victim has been convicted of data protection offences by a jury.

Statement in response to Facebook's announcement that it will be shutting down its partner category service

29 March 2018, Statement

Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham statement in response to Facebook's announcement that it will be shutting down its partner category service.

Blog: ICO seeks comments on draft Data Protection Impact Assessment guidance

26 March 2018, Blog

The ICO has for many years championed the benefits of voluntary Privacy Impact Assessments for new, innovative but potentially high-risk types of processing under the Data Protection Act 1998.

The GDPR and Beyond: Privacy, Transparency and the Law

23 March 2018, Speech

Elizabeth Denham spoke at the Alan Turing Institute on 23 March as part of its event: The GDPR and Beyond: Privacy, Transparency and the Law.

Scottish company raided over 200 million nuisance calls - after some potentially put public safety on railways at risk

22 March 2018, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office has searched a business premises near Glasgow, as part of an investigation into a company suspected of making over 200 million illegal nuisance calls.  

Trust, Transparency and Just-in-Time FOI: Sustainable Governance and Openness in the Digital Age

22 March 2018, Speech

Elizabeth Denham, an Honorary Professor at University College London, delivered the 2018 annual Jenkinson Lecture on 22 March.

Money, law and courage: the varied roles of the UK Information Commissioner

15 March 2018, Speech

Elizabeth Denham delivered the CRISP (Centre for Research into Information, Surveillance and Privacy) annual lecture 2018 at the University of Edinburgh on 14 March 2018.

Blog: A win for the data protection of UK consumers

14 March 2018, Blog

A win for the data protection of UK consumers – WhatsApp signs public commitment not to share personal data with Facebook until data protection concerns are addressed.

‘Making data protection your business’ - campaign launched to help micro-businesses prepare for the new data protection law

12 March 2018, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office has launched a   GDPR awareness campaign   aimed at people running micro-businesses – those   employing fewer than 10  people.  

ICO raids addresses in Greater Manchester investigating 11 million nuisance text messages

08 March 2018, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office has searched two addresses in Greater Manchester as part of an investigation into companies suspected of sending millions of unsolicited text messages.  

Blog: Making or selling Internet of Things (IoT) devices? Six reasons you need to be thinking about data protection

07 March 2018, Blog

With the demand for connected toys, smart watches and smart home accessories growing rapidly it’s safe to say the IoT market is booming.

Information Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, named most influential person in data-driven business

01 March 2018, News

 Elizabeth Denham has been announced number one in the 2018 edition of the DataIQ 100 

Affiliate marketing industry needs to clean up its act in terms of privacy law compliance

27 February 2018, News

An international operation has found that the affiliate marketing industry has significant issues to overcome in terms of compliance with rules concerning privacy and unsolicited communications.

ICO's blog on its international work

26 February 2018, Blog

This winter has been a busy one for the ICO’s international team. Two highlights included being invited to speak at the Government of the Philippines’ first FOI Summit, and having the pleasure of receiving colleagues of the Information Regulator in South Africa.  

ICO supports Federation of Small Businesses campaign to help small businesses to prepare for the GDPR

26 February 2018, Statement

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has today launched a campaign, supported by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), urging small businesses to prepare for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

DMA Data Protection 2018

23 February 2018, Speech

Elizabeth Denham's keynote speech, screened at the Direct Marketing Association's Data Protection 2018 event on Friday 23 February in London.

Former council worker fined for sharing personal information about schoolchildren and parents via Snapchat

22 February 2018, News

A former local authority education worker who illegally shared personal information about schoolchildren and their parents has been prosecuted.

ICO executes search warrant at home of suspected ‘imposter’ who wanted exam results altered

21 February 2018, News

The Information Commissioner’s Office has executed a search warrant as part of an investigation into a person suspected of posing as an ICO officer to commit criminal offences.