Tag: ICO

ICO statement following Scottish Government’s consensual data protection audit

Stuart Mitchell

The Scottish Government has committed to implementing a series of recommendations, following an audit from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). This will lead to improvements in the way people’s data is handled by the Scottish Government. In 2022, the ICO carried out a consensual data protection audit of various directorates of the Scottish Government. While the ICO observed existing good practice, there are crucial areas the Scottish Government needs to improve on. Areas identified for improvement include: Carrying out a data flow mapping exercise to fully understand how data is…

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New guidance to industry issued for game developers on protecting children

Stuart Mitchell

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a series of recommendations to game developers to help ensure they protect children when playing their games and comply with data protection laws. The recommendations are based on our experiences and findings during a series of voluntary audits of game developers, studios and publishers within the gaming industry. These recommendations  will ensure that games conform with the Children’s code and should assist design and gaming communities embed data protection considerations when designing gameplay. The Children’s code is a code of practice for online…

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Update on the ICO’s change of approach to regulating communication service providers

Stuart Mitchell

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) published a statement on 20 January 2023 about the obligations of public electronic communications service providers (CSPs) under Regulation 5A of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR). Following feedback received, the ICO removed the statement from its website so it could review it in order to provide greater clarity regarding its shift in regulatory approach to CSPs, which is in line with ICO25 – our three-year strategic plan. As part of ICO25 we are aiming to reduce data protection compliance burdens and costs for…

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ICO Empower people to foster trust in tomorrow’s technological advancements

Stuart Mitchell

The ICO is encouraging developers to consider privacy at an early stage when implementing new technologies to maintain public trust and confidence. Our Tech Horizons Report looks at technologies emerging over the next two to five years and warns that the significant benefits they offer could be lost if people feel companies are misusing their data. The report, which follows analysis of key technologies expected to impact society in the future, found businesses must consider transparency, what control people have over their data, and how much data is gathered to…

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ICO and Ofcom strengthen partnership on online safety and data protection

Stuart Mitchell

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and Ofcom have today set out how we will work together to ensure coherence between the data protection and the new online safety regimes. Our joint statement builds on our existing cooperative approach to regulation – and on our close working relationship established as co-founders of the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum. In anticipation of Ofcom taking on new duties in 2023 under the Online Safety Bill, the statement sets out our shared regulatory aims. We want: people who use online services to have confidence that…

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