The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is marking
European Data Protection Day today with a campaign aimed at getting
UK organisations tocommitto better protection of
personal data.
Businesses, charities and public sector bodies signing the
Personal Information Promise will send a strong signal to staff
and customers that personal details will be handled and protected
properly, the ICO said.
Organisations that have signed up to the ICO promise include
Royal Mail, NHS Information Centre, British Gas, BT, T-Mobile and
Vodafone.
The promise is intended to help strengthen public trust and
confidence in the way organisations handle their personal
information, the ICO said.
The promise does not create additional legal obligations, but is
a public commitment by organisations to put measures in place to
comply with the Data Protection Act.
Information Commissioner Richard Thomas said organisations are
waking up to the fact that privacy is now so significant that
lapses risk damaging reputations and bottom lines.
"I urge all CEOs and their executive teams to take personal
responsibility for treating data protection as a corporate
governance issue affecting the whole organisation," he said.
Accountability will be one of the watchwords for 2009, said
Paula Barrett, partner at international law firm
Eversheds.
"With the public embarrassment of HMRC, and most recently the
Home Office, together with household brands in the retail and
finance sectors, questions are now being asked by chief officers
and executives in the boardroom too," she said.
Signing up to the promise might prove to be a useful tool for
organisations that can take the high ground to engender trust,
Barrett said.