Tag: ICO

One in three young people falling prey to ‘text pests’ as ICO calls for victims to come forward

Stuart Mitchell

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has launched a call for victims of so-called ‘text pests’ to come forward to help the regulator gather evidence of the impact of this illegal behaviour. Text pests are individuals who use personal information, such as a phone number or email address, given to them in a business context for “romantic” or sexual propositions – for example, asking a customer out on a date after they ordered a takeaway. The call for evidence comes as new research commissioned by the ICO reveals that nearly a…

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ICO Sandbox publishes exit report following work with the Betting and Gaming Council to reduce incidents of gambling related harm

Stuart Mitchell

The ICO’s Regulatory Sandbox aims to support organisations who are creating products and services which utilise personal data in innovative and safe ways. The Betting and Gaming Council entered the Sandbox to explore the gambling industry’s development and trial of a Single Customer View (SCV) solution. The trial built on the work previously undertaken by the Gambling Commission within the Sandbox in 2021. The SCV solution developed by the BGC and the participating operators (Entain, William Hill, 888, Gamesys, Bet365 and Flutter) aims to enable a more unified and proactive…

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ICO submits Data protection and journalism code of practice to Secretary of State

Stuart Mitchell

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published a code of practice about using personal information for journalism (the code), and formally submitted it to the Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. The code provides practical guidance on how to comply with data protection law and good practice when personal information is used for journalism. We also published reference notes to support the code, containing more information about the legislation and case law examples. The code is limited to the ICO’s regulatory remit for data protection…

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ICO urges organisations to harness the power of data safely by using privacy enhancing technologies

Stuart Mitchell

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is recommending organisations to start using privacy enhancing technologies (PETs) to share people’s personal information safely, securely and anonymously. These types of technologies open unprecedented opportunities for organisations to harness the power of personal data through innovative and trustworthy applications, by allowing them to share, link and analyse people’s personal information without having access to it. PETs can be used to share anonymised personal information to detect and prevent financial crimes and related harms such as fraud, money laundering, and cybercrimes. The ICO has launched…

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ICO reviewing key businesses’ use of generative AI

Stuart Mitchell

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has called for businesses to address the privacy risks generative AI can bring before rushing to adopt the technology – with tougher checks on whether organisations are compliant with data protection laws. New research indicates that generative AI could become a £1 trillion market within a decade, with potential to bring huge benefits to business and society. Speaking at Politico’s Global Tech Day , Stephen Almond, Exec Director of Regulatory Risk, called for businesses to see those opportunities – but to see too the risks…

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