Information Commissioner wants powers to inspect organisations’ use of data…

The Information Commissioner – the regulator in charge of enforcing data protection law in the UK  – has called for powers to carry out spot checks on organisations to see if they are complying with the Data Protection Act. Currently, the Commissioner can only access premises with a warrant or with consent, but it would like the power to enter premises automatically. The ICO believes that it has had some success in catching wrong-doers but to enforce data protection laws effectively it needs to be able to catch organisations unawares. Aside from wanting better powers to access and detect breaches, the Commissioner has also been in the news recently for his push towards getting custodial sentences for people who supply or obtain data without the data controller’s consent.