Disaster recovery Toolkit

Privacy watchdog calls for data-law changes

Kablenet.com

Published: 05 Dec 2007 17:43 GMT

The information commissioner has told MPs that the data-protection law needs to be changed.

Giving evidence to the Commons Justice Committee hearing on the protection of private data, information commissioner Richard Thomas called for changes in the law and a rethink on government data-sharing between departments.

Speaking at the hearing on Tuesday, Thomas said his budget was insufficient and his powers too weak, according to The Register. The total budget of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is £10m, compared with £890m allocated for health and safety and £143m for the Food Standards Agency.

Thomas said the government's vision on data sharing between government departments looked more at the benefits of such a policy, rather than addressing the inherent risks.

Thomas said: "There is excessive faith in technology, perhaps without addressing the risks that go with collecting that information. That vision looks a little dated now."

On the ICO's powers, Thomas said he was asking for a new criminal offence to be created.

Thomas also suggested annual financial reports could include a statement that data-security policies had been followed and that those reports would be signed off by chief executives or heads of government departments.

Watch this

Hey you! Yes you! Win a Toyota Prius with ZDNet.co.uk's Homebrew challenge

Thomas, who has had his job for five years, said: "We've been dissatisfied for some time with our powers. We can get a search warrant but that is the nuclear option. Otherwise we need the organisation's consent and that seems bizarre. Most data regulators internationally have the right to inspect and most other UK regulators have that right."

Thomas explained that the ICO has the right to inspect international organisations but not UK organisations. He said he welcomed the prime minister's instructions to departments to allow inspections, but wanted that backed up by legislation. "It's an anomaly that doesn't make sense and reflects that data protection has not been taken seriously by successive governments," said Thomas.

The information commissioner also wants the power to require organisations to commission independent reviews of specific practices.