UK privacy watchdog starts over with new board and Manchester HQ

Britain's data protection watchdog has acquired a new legal identity and governance structure, although the familiar ICO initials are staying put. On September 30, the Information Commission replaced the Information Commissioner as the statutory regulator. The organization itself will be known as the Information Commission's …

[VoiceOfTruth]

If you look at the board

You will see it's musical chairs. These people move from board to board, about one million miles away from the coal face.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: If you look at the board

The whole ICO is not fit for purpose and should be woodchipped.

It need replaced with an end-user focused regulator with adequate funding, an appetite for confronting and punishing miscreants properly. See British Airways.

Currently it’s in cahoots with the companies it is supposed to be overseeing, to the detriment of consumers. Same as Ofwat/Environment Agency and numerous other (cough) independent regulators.

Just as the Tories wanted.

[Jedit]

Great

Another supine organisation that will do virtually nothing, but one shade different on the Pantone colour chart.

[QuickLuck]

Manchester ? Of course, where else

We must move away from having everything centralised In London. What should we do instead ? Here's an idea, centralise in Manchester where all his mates are. It really does make no difference which muppet is in charge, it's the same shite

[Like a badger]

Re: Manchester ? Of course, where else

The ICO's old base in Wilmslow was pretty much Manchester as far as the rest of the world cared, so existing staff could commute if they wished. Having said that, if the old base had been somewhere else like Poole or Bristol, the new base would still be Manchester.

[Missing Semicolon]

Re: Manchester ? Of course, where else

Mancunians hate the rich prats in Wilmslow. They're not "Greater Manchester". They're Cheshire (shudder).

[Tron]

Re: Manchester ? Of course, where else

Maybe they will take a leaf out of Trump's Playbook and rename it Andychester.

[I could be a dog really]

Presumably as well as keeping the initials and responsibilities, it'll keep up with the toothless regulation as well ?

[Sproggit]

After considering the points you raise, most carefully, we do not believe that there is a case to answer.

Thank you for contacting the Information Commissioners Office.

[heyrick]

For anyone dealing with the watchdog, little should change day to day.

So... still ineffective, useless, and toothless?

[Anonymous Coward]

Enforcement, Anyone????

Hah..."We are doing something"...moving the same faces a few miles down the road.

The real problem is much more general....no enforcement. Don't believe me? Well:

(1) OFFWAT - acres of environmental legislation, and rivers full of e-coli and sewage

(2) ICO/GDPR - The Royal Free Trust hands over 1.6million citizen medical records to Google/DeepMind....no action. (Yup...1.6million)

(3) PREVENT - three referrals did not prevent the murder of three kids at dance class

(4) MET POLICE - under Cressida Dick criminals worked while holding warrent cards. (See Wayne Couzins, David Carrick, and lots of others)

do every Monday on the BBC News:

- Template for the next "news item" -- "We are doing something about <your hot topic here>"

- But (unsaid) "Unfortunately there's no money for enforcement"

enddo

Note that this (hypothetical) loop never ends!

Sigh!!!!