WGPlus (Archive)

Blog posted by: Elizabeth Denham, Information Commissioner, May 25, 2017

I remember hearing my predecessor talk about a Chinese saying “may you live in interesting times”.  I think it’s fair to say we’re living in them!

My term in office is five years, and it’s abundantly clear to me as the first year draws to a close, ‘interesting times’ will be a recurring theme of my term. GDPR, Brexit, and whatever follows those two.  Add to that a general election too.

But while the exact form of the legislation may vary the route, the direction of travel for privacy and data rights is still the same.  Consumers aren’t concerned about the details of the GDPR, or what legislation might follow it. They’re asking questions such as: “Is my data properly protected?  Who’s holding organisations to account? What privacy rights do I have?”

As a regulator, the ICO needs to continue to be relevant: listening to consumer & citizen concerns and providing an answer to their questions.  These interesting times are a powerful opportunity to demonstrate our relevance by having a positive and direct impact on public trust.

And that’s what our NEW Information Rights Strategic Plan, is all about. It’s not about paperwork, or policies, or procedures.  It’s about how we make the work we do in Wilmslow, in London, in Belfast, in Edinburgh and in Cardiff, make a difference to the trust people have in what happens to their personal data.
Researched Links:

ICO:  Interesting times, and how we navigate them – (ICO:  Businesses warned to prepare with one year until data protection law change

EU News:  Application of the General Data Protection Regulation

techUK:  One Year to go Until GDPR!

techUK:  The Brave New World of GDPR

techUK:  Rob Luke's Keynote Speech for techUK's 'Will GDPR Change the World?' Event

They know who you are and think they know what you want!

Not just GDPR to worry about; Blog posted by: Jo Pedder, Interim Head of Policy and Engagement at ICO, 06 April 2017

Still much more to be done by LAs to comply with Best Practice / Legal Requirements

ICO Blog about ‘GDPR’ posted by Jo Pedder, Interim Head of Policy & Engagement

Some of us remember when ‘electoral data’ was a combination of paper copies of the electoral roll and ‘door knocking research’

HPE:  Simplifying GDPR Compliance: How to mitigate risk and derive value as you take on the new regulation

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