# Data Protection Act

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/07/25/data-protection-act/
- Published: 2008-07-25T13:08:14+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

I missed out on the last event Data Protection Act event organised by the Institute
of Fundraising, and will try to make the next one.

In July 2008 the [ Information Commissioner’s Office ](http://www.ico.gov.uk) (ICO)
served enforcement notices against HM Revenue and Customs and the Ministry of Defence.
The HMRC had lost two compact discs containing the personal data of up to 25 million
individuals and somebody managed to steal a Royal Navy recruiter’s laptop computer
containing personal data of approximately 600,000 recruits or potential recruits.
If government departments can’t implement their own rules, I wonder how the rest
of us are doing.

I have just received the latest newsletter from the ICO, and note that the ICO is“
about to start work on a code of practice dealing with all aspects of collecting
information about people”. “The code will address issues such as drafting privacy
notices, standards of explanation for individuals and the issues that arise when
collecting information about groups such as children”. I recently deleted an attachment
that someone had emailed me, because it contained information on the health of a
child, as well as information on the nationality of a potential prospect.

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The ICO is keen to illustrate this work with examples drawn from real life. If you
have examples of “innovative, genuinely informative or otherwise appealing ways 
of explaining the collection of personal information”, please send them to the ICO.
It is also keen to see examples of bad practice – “the overly legalistic, the counter-
intuitive or the downright deceptive”.

If you would like to be part of a small critical reader and consultation group or
if you have any examples please contact sh***********@*********ov.uk

Any takers?

See you at a future Data Protection Act event?

 * **[How safe is this internet thing, and how worrying are scaremongers?](https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/08/17/how-safe-internet-thing-and-how-worrying-are-scaremongers/)**(
   17 August 2008)
 * **[City and Guilds publishes 2008 Rich List](https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/08/27/city-and-guilds-publishes-2008-rich-list/)**(
   27 August 2008)
 * **[Business Information Sources](https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/08/29/business-information-sources/)**(
   29 August 2008)