Tag Archives: Christopher Graham

UK Information Commissioner Warns Businesses to “Wake Up” to the New EU Law on Cookies

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On March 8, 2011, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (the “ICO”) issued a warning to UK businesses on the forthcoming amendments to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive (2002/58/EC as amended by 2009/136/EC) that will require businesses operating websites in the UK to obtain consent from website visitors to store information on their computers and retrieve that information in the form of cookies. Continue reading…

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Wake Up Call for UK Data Controllers: ICO Issues its First Fines for Data Breaches

Posted on November 25, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

In the first use of his powers to impose monetary penalties, the UK Information Commissioner has announced fines for two organizations with respect to serious breaches of the UK Data Protection Act.

  • Hertfordshire County Council must pay a fine of £100,000 after staff accidentally faxed highly sensitive information to the wrong recipients, on two separate occasions. 
  • A4e Limited, an employment services company, must pay £60,000 following the theft of an unencrypted laptop from an employee’s home, putting the data of 24,000 people at risk.

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Google Signs Privacy Undertaking at Request of UK Data Protection Authority

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On November 19, 2010, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (the “ICO”) announced that Google has signed an undertaking committing it to improve its data processing practices.  The undertaking follows an ICO investigation into the collection of payload data by Google Street View cars in the UK.  Google’s Senior Vice President, Alan Eustace, signed the undertaking on behalf of Google, Inc.

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UK ICO Releases Draft Code on Data Sharing

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On October 8, 2010, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office launched a consultation on a new statutory code of practice on the sharing of personal data.

As stated in the ICO’s press release, the draft code sets out a model of good practice, covering routine and one-off arrangements for sharing data with third parties.  The code offers guidance on issues such as:

  • The factors that an organization must take into account when deciding whether or not to share personal data
  • The point at which individuals should be told that their data will be shared
  • The security and staff training measures that must be implemented
  • The rights of individuals to access their personal data
  • Circumstances in which it is not acceptable to share personal data

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ACS:Law Could Face the First UK Fine for a Data Breach

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (the “ICO”) has indicated that UK law firm ACS:Law could face a maximum penalty of £500,000 following a major data breach.

Personal information, including names and addresses, of over 8,000 Sky broadband subscribers and 400 PlusNet users was made publicly available following an apparent attack on ACS:Law’s website.  The broadband customers involved are suspected by ACS:Law’s clients of illegally file-sharing copyright work, including music and, in some instances, pornographic films.

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UK Information Commissioner’s Office Launches New Code of Practice

Posted on July 9, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On July 7, 2010, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office published a new code of practice for the collection of personal data online.  Launching the new code at a data protection conference, UK Information Commissioner Christopher Graham said, “the benefits of the internet age are clear: the chance to make more contacts, quicker transactions and greater convenience.  But there are risks too.  A record of our online activity can reveal our most personal interests.  Get privacy right and you will retain the trust and confidence of your customers and users; mislead consumers or collect information you don’t need and you are likely to diminish customer trust and face enforcement action from the ICO.”

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New Report Offers Insight on How the British Public Views Personal Data Use

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

Demos, an independent UK-based think tank, has published a report describing the views of a cross-section of British people on how their personal data are used by the public and private sectors.  Private Lives: A People’s Inquiry Into Personal Information (the “Report”) was researched in the context of the UK Information Commissioner’s Office’s consultation on the Personal Information Online Code of Practice.  The Information Commissioner called for industry and research groups to provide context for the new Code of Practice. “What emerges from the study is a fascinating picture of a public who certainly care about information rights, but who are by no means hysterical about perceived threats to liberty or privacy,” observed UK Information Commissioner Christopher Graham.

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UK Information Commissioner Asks Organizations to “Deliver the Privacy Dividend”

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On March 3, 2010, the UK Information Commissioner launched a report on the "Privacy Dividend" (the “Report”), which outlines the business case for proactively investing in privacy protection.  The lack of a robust business case is a common barrier to privacy investment, and too often such investment is approved only after a privacy breach or other crisis occurs.

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Fines for UK Data Breaches Now a Reality

Posted on January 12, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On January 12, 2010, the UK government laid regulations before Parliament to bring into force civil monetary penalties of up to £500,000 ($800,000) for serious data breaches.  These penalties are likely to take effect starting April 6, 2010.  Significantly, the penalties will apply not only to data security breaches, but also to all serious breaches of the UK Data Protection Act 1998.  Accordingly, collecting personal data for a sweepstakes contest then deliberately, and without consent, disclosing the data to a third party to populate a tracing database for commercial purposes might well be subject to a penalty.

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New UK Information Commissioner Sets His Agenda

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Hunton & Williams LLP

The new UK Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, shared his vision for data protection regulation at his first conference speech in London yesterday.  As the keynote speaker at the 8th Annual Privacy and Data Protection Conference, chaired by Hunton & Williams partner, Bridget Treacy, Christopher Graham positioned himself as a fair, but tough, regulator who will not be afraid to use his strengthened enforcement powers.

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