Tag: ICO

ICO takes action against companies over predatory marketing calls targeting elderly, vulnerable people

Stuart Mitchell

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has announced fines totalling £405,000 to five companies responsible for over 750,000 unwanted marketing calls targeted at older, vulnerable people. The ICO also issued these companies with enforcement notices that require them to immediately stop making these predatory calls. After receiving complaints from the public and information from partner organisations, including Action Fraud, Trading Standards, the consumer group Which? and the call blocker provider trueCall, the ICO began investigating a number of companies that were calling people to sell insurance products or services for white…

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New UK Information Commissioner begins term

Stuart Mitchell

John Edwards began his new role as UK Information Commissioner on Tuesday 4 January. Mr Edwards, who joins on a five year term, spent the past eight years as New Zealand Privacy Commissioner, and before that worked as a barrister. He succeeds Elizabeth Denham CBE, whose term as UK Information Commissioner ended last year. Mr Edwards said: “Privacy is a right not a privilege. In a world where our personal data can drive everything from the healthcare we receive to the job opportunities we see, we all deserve to have…

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ICO invites comments on how it uses its powers to investigate, regulate and enforce

Stuart Mitchell

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has launched a consultation to gather the views of stakeholders and the public on how it regulates the laws it monitors and enforces. People will have 14 weeks to comment on three documents, which are all designed to give direction and focus to the organisations it regulates. The Regulatory Action Policy (RAP) updates the ICO’s 2018 policy and sets out the regulator’s general approach. It reinforces the ICO’s commitment to a proportionate and risk-based approach to enforcement, and it explains the factors taken into consideration…

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ICO issues provisional view to fine Clearview AI Inc over £17 million

Stuart Mitchell

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has announced its provisional intent to impose a potential fine of just over £17 million on Clearview AI Inc – a company that describes itself as the ‘World’s Largest Facial Network’. In addition, the ICO has issued a provisional notice to stop further processing of the personal data of people in the UK and to delete it following alleged serious breaches of the UK’s data protection laws. Today’s announcement follows a joint investigation by the ICO and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC),…

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ICO calls on Google and other companies to eliminate existing privacy risks posed by adtech industry

Stuart Mitchell

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has set out clear data protection standards that companies must meet to safeguard people’s privacy online when developing new advertising technologies (adtech). The privacy standards published in a Commissioner’s Opinion come as a warning to companies that are designing new methods of online advertising, that they must comply with data protection law and stop the excessive collection and use of people’s data. Currently, one of the most significant proposals in the online advertising space is the Google Privacy Sandbox, which aims to replace the use…

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