Industry news

New law to clamp down on data loss blunders

The government has created a new law to make it an offence to "intentionally or recklessly" disclose personal data, it has emerged.

Anyone found guilty of the potential new civil offence would face a "substantial" fine.

The Liberal Democrat amendment was passed in the House of Lords last month as peers voted 134 to 130 to accept the adjustment to the criminal justice and immigration bill.

And now MPs have backed the amendment in a move welcomed by the Information Commissioners Office, according to Silicon.com.
Deputy information commissioner, David Smith, told the publication he welcomed the laws sending a "very clear signal" that data protection must be a priority.

"The prospect of substantial fines for deliberate or reckless breaches of the data protection principles will act as a strong deterrent and help ensure that organisations take their data protection obligations more seriously," he added.

Liberal Democrat Lady Miller's proposal – a result of a spate of recent governmental department data losses – was turned into a civil offence when it was approved by the House of Commons on Wednesday.