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New data protection powers awarded to ICO

14 January 2010

Under new powers being provided to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) by the Government, the body will be able to hand out penalties of up to £500,000 for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act.

The change in legislation is due to come into force on April 6th 2010 and the maximum fines will be used in cases where the incident has caused individuals "substantial damage and distress", whether it was deliberate or negligent and what action has been taken by the organization to correct the problem.

Providing the ICO with additional powers is intended to persuade data handlers to improve protections for information held on individuals and statutory guidance produced by the agency has been approved by the Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw.

As the plans are laid before Parliament, Christopher Graham, Information Commissioner, declared: "I will not hesitate to use these tough new sanctions for the most serious cases where organisations disregard the law."

In December, the ICO launched a consultation on a proposed code of practice for data handlers designed to protect the privacy of individuals using the internet.

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