This week, the Information Commissioner’s Office significantly changed its policy on direct marketing as it relates to the public sector. ICO now says most messages sent by public sector organisations – even those sent for explicitly promotional purposes – are not direct marketing. The definition has always included both commercial messages but also the promotion […]
As surely nobody has forgotten, in April, the Duke of Edinburgh died. Even a committed republican such as myself would have to acknowledge that this is a significant event in UK public life. Government and government-adjacent organisations such as the Information Commissioner’s Office plainly had to weigh up how best to react to his passing. […]
Although it appears to have fallen silent, the Institute of Data Protection had an impressive sales pitch. It was “one of the most forward thinking and advanced learning programmes available for data protection professionals. We represent and support our members, promoting the highest professional standards around data protection and privacy issues”. UPDATE: since this blog was […]
I’ve encountered many different posts and opinions about how Data Protection law will work in the UK after December 31st. This is my take as things currently stand. DP law in the UK Data Protection law in the UK will comprise the UK GDPR (a version of the GDPR amended to remove redundant EU references) […]
Predictions about the Brexit negotiations are probably a mug’s game. Despite the fact that Boris Johnson’s government is the stupidest and most incompetent of my lifetime, it’s clearly not impossible that the EU will give the UK some kind of trade deal at the end of them. It’s also not impossible that part of the […]
The A5103 is a dual carriageway near my house that connects the M56 at the bottom with the city of Manchester at the top. People come racing off the M56 onto it, many barely slowing before hitting the M60. However, immediately afterwards, the A5103 goes through a series of residential areas: West Didsbury, Whalley Range, […]
On page 74 of the Information Commissioner’s newly published Annual Report, you can find the welcome news that the ICO reduced the amount of water in flushing toilets and the timings of auto flushing in urinals. Sadly, the expansion of the organisation’s footprint in Wilmslow, due to swelling numbers of staff, has led to an […]
As we all endure the lockdown and the uncertainty about when and how it might end, I have been trying to avoid thinking about the past. It’s tempting to dwell on the last time I went to the cinema (Home, Manchester ironically to watch ‘The Lighthouse’), the last time I went to a pub (Tweedies […]
Last week, I wrote a blog about the ‘personal data agency’ Yo-Da, outlining my concerns about their grandiose claims, the lack of detail about how their service works and their hypocritical decision to ignore a subject access request I made to them. Predictably, this led to further online tussles between myself and Benjamin Falk, the […]
A few months ago, I wrote a blog about data protection and nonsense, highlighting inaccurate claims made by training companies, marketers and pressure groups. A bad tempered spat ensued in comments on LinkedIn between myself and Russell James, the marketer behind the lobbying attempt to change the ICO’s funding model to include cost recovery. James […]
