UK.gov delays new data breach powers

The government has failed to meet its own deadlines to bring in new powers for the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to fine companies who lose personal data. The Ministry of Justice won't say when it plans to publish the secondary legislation needed to set the fines or why it did not meet its March target. A spokesman …

[Anonymous Coward]

roll up! roll up!

no surprise - the government want to sell our data to private companies, up to now they've been giving it away on a random basis.

[Mark Burgum]

umm

I wonder if that means they have a few other data breeches to tell us about, and where scared about getting clobbered by there own new rules.

[adnim]

Is

the government classed as a company with respect to this law?

If so it could explain governments reticence in this matter.

petard own hoist avoid must

[Tom Chiverton]

Obvious really

We got the scrapping of the Data Protection Act dropped from the Coroners bill (i.e. clause 152), which means there would actually be a chance the government would be fined for losing all our data, so it's very important to the government that the powers to impose those fines never see the light of day.

[Anonymous Coward]

"recklessly commit serious contravention of the data protection principles"

... like delaying these new powers ???

[BlueGreen]

I rather doubt the ICO wants these powers

they might have to do some work if they got them. Useless pathetic numpties they were when it came to Phorm.

[Columbus]

Arrgghh!!!

watchdog with teeth?? It'll never happen... or the government will neuter it immediately.

[Anonymous Coward]

What's the point?

Giving the ICO sharper teeth would be like giving a monk a bigger todger.

Neither would be used.

[Tom]

so....

really, in a fair world, they should be fining the respective council offices that have been flagged for -under self admission- henous personal data loss then? in a fair world that is, maybe they just don't want to be forced to blazenly sidestep new unpopular law for their own gain...

[John Smith]

They were quick to announce this

That is that it would be included in the Bill. This government has been very keen to get things written into to law with the fine print down to the SI. Not usually this slow with the statutory instruments.

However for the purposes of this law I think HMG is exempt. OTOH I'm rather doubtful that its contractors (who for some reason *always* seem to be working with a copy of the whole live database) would be.

EDS, CSC, IBM, Thales and of course Capita *might* be a little more circumspect with our data if they actually risked something if they lost a copy of it.

The way to sell this to governments is not as a safeguard on data protection, which they don't seem to care about. Its the revenue earning opportunity it represents.

[Anonymous Coward]

que'l surprise? - non.

Of course it's been held up until Brown and his team of incompetent fools can find the weasel words to keep their own arses out of the fire. Either that, or they'll hold it up until they get kicked out at the next election and then make the *next* government liable for the fines.

The sooner this bunch are kicked out and someone else takes over, the better.