A report produced by the inquirer has made an amendment to a tabled discussion regarding data privacy.
A position is to be created which will regulate privacy issues affecting the public.
The House of Lords made this statement “The Secretary of State shall appoint a Commissioner to be known as the Privacy Commissioner ..It shall be the duty of the commissioner to promote respect for individual privacy.”
The current and weak Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is reputably disappointing in following through with its investigations.
“It is a quasi judicial regulator that sees its role as protecting data rather than people,” Privacy International says.
Poor data protection policies within the UK have prompted such discussions. Countless hacking scandals this year are beginning to be addressed, and the value of data being realised.
Although the primary duty of the new Privacy Commissioner would be to ensure individual privacy, data privacy within the business world also needs addressing. This is especially apparent with IT cutbacks and with organisations moving their infrastructures to the cloud. Addressing the current failures of the ICO is only the start.
“If successful the UK could have a real privacy regulator rather than a weak one that merely oversees data protection,” Privacy International.
