The Information Commissioner’s Office has launched a consultation on draft guidance for the media on the Data Protection Act 1998. The guide has been developed in response to the recommendation in the Leveson Report that the Information Commissioner develop specific and comprehensive guidance on the application of the Data Protection Act to the press.
The draft guidance deals with:
– the balance between the right to privacy and freedom of expression
– an outline of the Data Protection Act, including the de-bunking of certain data protection myths
– details of the journalism exception under section 32 of the Act
– how the Data Protection Act affects the work of journalists in practice
– how disputes about data protection are resolved by the ICO and the courts
The consultation is open until 22 April 2014.
The draft guidance can be found here.
The consultation response document can be found here.