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Private eye

22 November 2013 / Tom Morrison
Issue: 7585 / Categories: Features , Data protection , Freedom of Information
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Tom Morrison catches up on key developments in data protection & freedom of information

Freedom of information and data protection interact in complex ways, most commonly in connection with requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FIA 2000) which could constitute personal data under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA 1998). Sometimes public authorities get the assessment wrong, in the eyes of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and purposely withhold information when it should have been disclosed or vice versa. In a case involving Islington Council, however, personal information relating to 2,375 residents was mistakenly disclosed in spreadsheets released under FIA 2000. That mistake cost the council a £70,000 fine. It had intended to release only the summarised information collated from the pivot tables behind the spreadsheets, not the source data.

By contrast the Home Office, Sussex Police and South Tyneside Council are now being intensively monitored by the ICO, following a series of complaints relating to the failure of the authorities to reply to information requests on time. A previous exercise,

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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