Tag: ICO

ICO consultation on the draft biometric data guidance

Stuart Mitchell

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is producing guidance on biometric data and biometric technologies. The first phase of this guidance (draft biometric data guidance) is now published for public consultation. The second phase of this guidance (biometric classification and data protection) will include a call for evidence early next year.  The draft biometric data guidance explains how data protection law applies when you use biometric data in biometric recognition systems. The consultation will run from 18 August to 20 October 2023. Further Reading ICO consultation on the draft biometric data…

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Harmful online design encourages consumers to hand over personal information

Stuart Mitchell

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are calling for businesses to stop using harmful website designs that can trick consumers into giving up more of their personal data than they would like. Practices include overly complicated privacy controls, default settings that give less control over personal information and bundling privacy choices together in ways that push consumers to share more data than they would otherwise wish to do. Where consumers lack effective control over how their data is collected and used, this can harm consumers…

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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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