"Using deception to obtain personal information – sometimes known as blagging – or selling it on without permission are serious offences that can cause great harm.
Fines are used to punish breaches of data protection laws, but they provide little deterrent when the financial gain exceeds the penalty.
Magistrates and Judges need to be able to hand out custodial sentences when serious misuses of personal information come to light. Parliament has provided that power, but Ministers have not yet brought it into force - they must do so."
The report is available here.
I couldn't resist to look at the above link, and then to go into the corresponding 'Referral fees and the theft of personal data: evidence from the Information Commissioner'
ReplyDelete'3. The DPA sets out the current penalties for breaches of section 55 offences. A fine of up to £5,000 may be imposed in the magistrates' court, or an unlimited fine in the crown court. However, in practice fines are much lower, in part because judges and magistrates must take into account the defendant's ability to pay.'
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmjust/1473/147304.htm#note1
The moral of the story? Be sure to commit data misusage crimes in your young and poor student years; the profit is the same but the punishment lower.
Absolutely - although that applies far more widely than just DP offences!
ReplyDelete