£500,000 Fine for Data Protection Offenders

14 January 2010, filed under Ecommerce

From Tuesday 6th April 2010 any person or organisation found guilty of breaching the data protection laws shall face penalty fines of up to £500,000. The Government recently approved the plans against serious breaches of personal data and personal information.

Last week the Secretary of State for Justice approved the Information Commissioner’s plan to order data protection offenders to pay up to £500,000 in fines for breaching the Data Protection Act 1998.
According to the Information Commissioner’s Office the level of the fine payable shall be dependent upon a number of factors including:

• The seriousness of the breach
• The action the accused had taken to protect information
• The level of damage and distress caused to those affected
• Whether the breach was deliberate
• Whether the breach was negligent

It is believed that the penalty fines have been set at such a rate in a bid to encourage compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

The Information Commissioner’s Office has long been campaigning for an increase in its powers to enforce the Data Protection Act and has asked the Government to institute jail terms for those who deal in personal data and personal information. The Government is yet to make a decision regarding the jail term for such an offence.

The Government has rejected a penalty system being based on the turnover of the offender as enforcing such a system would prove a burden to the administrative resources required to operate it and may be disproportionate depending on the seriousness and intent of the breach.

The Information Commissioner’s Office have stated that they may adjust each penalty in accordance with the financial status of the offender so as not to impose financial hardship on innocent parties who may have been caught up in the crossfire. However, the financial hardship of the offending party shall have to be proved in order for the penalty fines to be potentially decreased. The offending organisations’ size, sector and severity of breach of data protection will be taken into account to issue a proportionate monetary penalty.

With the internet becoming a fundamental resource in the lives of many citizens throughout the globe the pressure is on the local Governments and politicians to provide adequate penalties for those abusing the trust of the consumers and businesses utilising the online world.