Tag: Information Commissioner’s Office

ICO busts nuisance call centre

policemanThe Information Commissioner’s Office said it raided a call centre in Hove that it thought is the origin of millions of nuisance phone calls.

The ICO said the company used automatic dialling to make millions of calls about payment protection or debt management.

The calls are made without peoples’ permission and the ICO said it’s impossible for people to opt out of them.

The enforcement people at the ICO removed documents and computer equipment for forensic action and to decide what action it could take to prevent the company from making the the prerecorded calls.

Options include issuing a civil monetary enforcement notice.

David Clancy, who led the raid for the ICO, said: “It is astounding to think this one small company has the ability to pester millions of people with unwanted calls on a huge skill.”

He said the rules are clear about making recorded calls without consent. “If the evidence proves the law has been broken, we will act,” he said.

Electronic marketing regulations are soon to change and that it will make it easier for the ICO to take action, he said.

 

UK makes Google change privacy policy

OgleThe Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has made Google sign an undertaking to improve information about how it collects personal data in the UK.
The ICO said that following an investigation it found that Google’s search engine was “too vague” in describing how it used personal data it had collected.
The ICO said Google has signed a formal undertaking to make changes to its privacy policy so that it meets the needs of the UK Data Protection Act.
The ICO worked with other European data protection authorities, it said.
The enforcement officer at the ICO, Steve Eckersley, said: “This investigation has identified some important learning points not only for Google, but also for all organisations operating online, particularly when they seek to combine and use data across services.”
Google will have to make agreed changes by the 30th of June this year, and take even more steps over the next two years.
Google’s undertaking can be found here.