Office of the Information Commissioner
Encyclopedia
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO; stylized as ico.) in the United Kingdom
, is a non-departmental public body
which reports directly to Parliament
and is sponsored by the Ministry of Justice
. It is the independent regulatory office dealing with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003
across the UK; and the Freedom of Information Act 2000
and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and, to a limited extent, in Scotland.
. The Commissioner's decisions are subject to the supervision of the Courts and the Information Tribunal
. The Office's mission is to "uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals".
During the tenure of Richard Thomas as Commissioner, the ICO was particularly noted for raising serious concerns over the Government's proposed British national identity card and database
, as well as other similar databases such as the Citizen Information Project
, Universal Child Database
, and the NHS National Programme for IT, stating that the country is in danger of sleepwalking into a surveillance society
, drawing attention to the misuse of such information by the former states of the Eastern bloc
and Franco
's Spain
. The position of Information Commissioner is currently held by Christopher Graham
, who took over from Richard Thomas on 29 June 2009.
as a member of the European Union
is subject to a strict regime of Data Protection. The Data Protection Act 1984
created the post then named Data Protection Registrar with whom people processing personal data had to register the fact of their processing of that data on the Register of Data Controllers
. Under the provisions of EC Directive 95/46
(introduced in the UK as the Data Protection Act 1998, rather than as an SI
under the European Communities Act 1972
) the name of the post was changed to Data Protection Commissioner and later to Information Commissioner.
The register of data controllers is publicly available and searchable at the website of the ICO, which also gives links to the ICO's counterparts around Europe
.
the Commissioner's role was expanded to include freedom of information
and the job title was changed to Information Commissioner ('IC'). The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
is the domain of the Scottish Information Commissioner
and is aimed at public bodies administered by the Scottish Parliament
(which are not covered by the UK Act).
In 2006, a request under the Freedom of Information Act led to the publication of a report to the British Parliament called "What Price Privacy Now?". The newspaper with the highest number of requests was the Daily Mail
with 952 transactions by 58 journalists; the News of the World
came fifth in the table, with 182 transactions from 19 journalists. The Daily Mail immediately issued a press release, in which it rejected the accusations within the report. Editor Paul Dacre
said that Associated Newspapers
only used private investigators to confirm public information, such as dates of birth.
In a July 2011 appearance in front of a parliamentary committee, a day after former News International
CEO Rebekah Brooks had been arrested and bailed in light of the News International phone hacking scandal, Dacre told them that he had never "countenanced" phone hacking or blagging at his newspaper, as both acts were clearly "criminal".
and European Economic Area
who have equivalent officials created under their versions of Directive 95/46.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, is a non-departmental public body
Non-departmental public body
In the United Kingdom, a non-departmental public body —often referred to as a quango—is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to certain types of public bodies...
which reports directly to Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
and is sponsored by the Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Justice is a ministerial department of the UK Government headed by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, who is responsible for improvements to the justice system so that it better serves the public...
. It is the independent regulatory office dealing with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003
Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003
The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 is a law in the United Kingdom which made it unlawful to, amongst other things, transmit an automated recorded message for direct marketing purposes via a telephone, without prior consent of the subscriber.This is somewhat similar to the...
across the UK; and the Freedom of Information Act 2000
Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation in the United Kingdom on a national level...
and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and, to a limited extent, in Scotland.
Role of the Information Commissioner
The Information Commissioner is an independent official appointed by the CrownThe Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
. The Commissioner's decisions are subject to the supervision of the Courts and the Information Tribunal
Information Tribunal
The Information Tribunal was a tribunal non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It was established as the Data Protection Tribunal to hear appeals under the Data Protection Act 1984...
. The Office's mission is to "uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals".
During the tenure of Richard Thomas as Commissioner, the ICO was particularly noted for raising serious concerns over the Government's proposed British national identity card and database
British national identity card
The Identity Cards Act 2006 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for National Identity Cards, a personal identification document and European Union travel document, linked to a database known as the National Identity Register .The introduction of the scheme was much...
, as well as other similar databases such as the Citizen Information Project
Citizen Information Project
In the United Kingdom, the Citizen Information Project was a plan by the Office for National Statistics to build a national population register....
, Universal Child Database
Universal Child Database
ContactPoint was a government database that held information on all children under 18 in England. It was created in response to the abuse and death of eight-year-old Victoria Climbié in 2000 in England; in which it was found that various agencies involved in her care had failed to prevent her death...
, and the NHS National Programme for IT, stating that the country is in danger of sleepwalking into a surveillance society
Mass surveillance
Mass surveillance is the pervasive surveillance of an entire population, or a substantial fraction thereof.Modern governments today commonly perform mass surveillance of their citizens, explaining that they believe that it is necessary to protect them from dangerous groups such as terrorists,...
, drawing attention to the misuse of such information by the former states of the Eastern bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
and Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. The position of Information Commissioner is currently held by Christopher Graham
Christopher Graham
Christopher Sidney Matthew Graham is the UK Information Commissioner. He took over the role from Richard Thomas on 29 June 2009...
, who took over from Richard Thomas on 29 June 2009.
Data Protection Act 1998
The United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as a member of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
is subject to a strict regime of Data Protection. The Data Protection Act 1984
Data Protection Act 1984
The Data Protection Act 1998 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which defines UK law on the processing of data on identifiable living people. It is the main piece of legislation that governs the protection of personal data in the UK...
created the post then named Data Protection Registrar with whom people processing personal data had to register the fact of their processing of that data on the Register of Data Controllers
Register of data controllers
The Register of data controllers is a United Kingdom database under the control of the UK Information Commissioner's Office mandated by the UK Data Protection Act 1998 which records the name of the data controller and the purpose for the processing of the data processed by that controller within...
. Under the provisions of EC Directive 95/46
Directive 95/46/EC on the protection of personal data
The Data Protection Directive is a European Union directive which regulates the processing of personal data within the European Union...
(introduced in the UK as the Data Protection Act 1998, rather than as an SI
Statutory Instrument
A Statutory Instrument is the principal form in which delegated or secondary legislation is made in Great Britain.Statutory Instruments are governed by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946. They replaced Statutory Rules and Orders, made under the Rules Publication Act 1893, in 1948.Most delegated...
under the European Communities Act 1972
European Communities Act 1972
European Communities Act 1972 can refer to:*European Communities Act 1972 * European Communities Act 1972...
) the name of the post was changed to Data Protection Commissioner and later to Information Commissioner.
The register of data controllers is publicly available and searchable at the website of the ICO, which also gives links to the ICO's counterparts around Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Enforcement
Prior to 2010 the enforcement powers were limited to issuing enforcement notices and to pursuing those alleged to have broken the Data Protection Act 1998 through the courts. In 2010 The Information Commissioner has started to issue fines, known as monetary penalties, by its own authority, granted in April 2010. The first such were served on 24 November 2010.Freedom of Information Act 2000
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation in the United Kingdom on a national level...
the Commissioner's role was expanded to include freedom of information
Freedom of information
Freedom of information refers to the protection of the right to freedom of expression with regards to the Internet and information technology . Freedom of information may also concern censorship in an information technology context, i.e...
and the job title was changed to Information Commissioner ('IC'). The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
The Freedom of Information Act 2002 was an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in 2002. It covers public bodies over which the Scottish Parliament has jurisdiction, fulfilling a similar purpose to the UK-level Freedom of Information Act 2000...
is the domain of the Scottish Information Commissioner
Scottish Information Commissioner
The Scottish Information Commissioner is responsible for the promotion and enforcement of the Freedom of Information Act 2002 and the ....
and is aimed at public bodies administered by the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
(which are not covered by the UK Act).
Environmental Information Regulations 2004
The Information Commissioner is also responsible for appeals made under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.Operation Motorman
In 2002, under 'Operation Motorman', the ICO under Richard Thomas raided various newspaper and private investigators' offices, looking for details of personal information kept on unregistered computer databases. The operation uncovered numerous invoices addressed to newspapers and magazines, which detailed prices for providing the journalists with personal information, with 305 journalists being identified as having been the recipients of a wide range of information.In 2006, a request under the Freedom of Information Act led to the publication of a report to the British Parliament called "What Price Privacy Now?". The newspaper with the highest number of requests was the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
with 952 transactions by 58 journalists; the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
came fifth in the table, with 182 transactions from 19 journalists. The Daily Mail immediately issued a press release, in which it rejected the accusations within the report. Editor Paul Dacre
Paul Dacre
Paul Michael Dacre is a British journalist and current editor of the British newspaper the Daily Mail. He is also editor in chief of the Mail group titles, which also includes The Mail on Sunday. He is also a director of the Daily Mail and General Trust plc and was a member of the Press Complaints...
said that Associated Newspapers
Associated Newspapers
Associated Newspapers is a large national newspaper publisher in the UK, which is a subsidiary of the Daily Mail and General Trust. The group was established in 1905 and is currently based at Northcliffe House in Kensington...
only used private investigators to confirm public information, such as dates of birth.
In a July 2011 appearance in front of a parliamentary committee, a day after former News International
News International
News International Ltd is the United Kingdom newspaper publishing division of News Corporation. Until June 2002, it was called News International plc....
CEO Rebekah Brooks had been arrested and bailed in light of the News International phone hacking scandal, Dacre told them that he had never "countenanced" phone hacking or blagging at his newspaper, as both acts were clearly "criminal".
List of Information Commissioners
- Christopher GrahamChristopher GrahamChristopher Sidney Matthew Graham is the UK Information Commissioner. He took over the role from Richard Thomas on 29 June 2009...
(appointed 29 June 2009) - Richard Thomas (appointed 2 December 2002)
- Elizabeth France (appointed 1 September 1994)
- Eric Howe (appointed September 1984)
Similar roles in Europe
The role of the IC is mirrored throughout the countries of the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and European Economic Area
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...
who have equivalent officials created under their versions of Directive 95/46.
See also
- Data privacyData privacyInformation privacy, or data privacy is the relationship between collection and dissemination of data, technology, the public expectation of privacy, and the legal and political issues surrounding them....
- Departments of the United Kingdom GovernmentDepartments of the United Kingdom GovernmentHer Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom contains a number of Cabinet ministers who are usually called secretaries of state when they are in charge of Government departments called ministerial departments...
- Privacy InternationalPrivacy InternationalPrivacy International is a UK-based non-profit organisation formed in 1990, "as a watchdog on surveillance and privacy invasions by governments and corporations." PI has organised campaigns and initiatives in more than fifty countries and is based in London, UK.-Formation, background and...
- The United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Office of Communications (Ofcom)OfcomOfcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003... - The United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem)Office of Gas and Electricity MarketsThe Office of Gas and Electricity Markets , supporting the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority , is the government regulator for the electricity and downstream natural gas markets in Great Britain... - The United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat)Water Services Regulation AuthorityThe Water Services Regulation Authority is the body responsible for economic regulation of the privatised water and sewerage industry in England and Wales.... - Telephone Preference ServiceTelephone Preference ServiceThe Telephone Preference Service is a UK opt-out telephone list that is intended to prevent telemarketing calls to those who do not wish to receive them. The list is administered on behalf of Ofcom by the British direct marketing industry, who also run the Mailing Preference Service and Fax...
- :Category:Databases in the United Kingdom
- Operation Motorman (ICO investigation)Operation Motorman (ICO investigation)Operation Motorman was a 2003 investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office into allegations of offences under the Data Protection Act by the British press....