ICO brings successful prosecution for unlawful trade in personal information

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has successfully prosecuted a married couple for obtaining and selling personal information unlawfully, contrary to section 55 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). The couple used "blagging" techniques to obtain personal information about individuals from organisations such as banks and telephone companies. They were fined a total of £7,500 and ordered to pay £3,694 each towards prosecution costs. The government is currently consulting on proposals that a custodial sentence be introduced for breach of section 55 of the DPA, following a report by the ICO highlighting the extent of unlawful trade in personal information .Source: ICO press release, 14 November 2006. www.ico.gov.uk

Latest News