Government to clamp down on personal data trade

By Steve Malone

Posted on 25 Jul 2006 at 10:23

The UK government is proposing to tighten the rules on individuals who share personal data for profit. It has published a consultation which aims to get views from the public and industry on how any new laws should be framed.

Trading in personal data is becoming big business. As individuals either choose or are forced to give more personal information to databases, so it becomes easier for others to produce a profile of those individuals. Additionally, the Government is concerned that personal information released under the Freedom of Information Act and other 'right-to-know' legislation is being sold to those with no-right-to-know.

'Greater data-sharing within the public sector has the potential to be hugely beneficial to the public - as individuals and to society as a whole,' declared the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer. 'One of the essential ways of maintaining that compatibility is to ensure the security and integrity of personal data once it has been shared.'

Earlier this month, the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) ordered the website b4usearch.com to stop using personal information from electoral registers.

The consultation document takes the view that current penalties of a fine in the Data Protection Act 1998 do not provide a sufficiently strong deterrent. The maximum penalty for trading in data is £5,000 for a summary conviction under the Data Protection Act 1998, and on conviction on indictment, there is no maximum limit to such a fine.

On top of the fines, the Government also wants to introduce a penalty of six months in prison for a summary conviction and up to two years on indictment.

However, the Government stresses that there will be protection in any law for a civil servant who unwittingly provides personal information under the Freedom of Information Act.

The public has until 30 October to comment on the consultation document.