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PolicyNet
Events
PolicyNet Meeting
20th April 2006 - Richard Thomas, the Information
Commissioner.
On April 20th, Richard Thomas,
the Information Commissioner, spoke to PolicyNet on
‘Technology and Privacy – The Information
Commissioner’s Perspective’. He explained that his
role as Information Commissioner was to protect
individual rights – by increasing the individual’s
access to information about public sector
organisations through the Freedom of Information
Act, and by protecting information about an
individual through the Data Protection Act. The
major theme of his talk was how emerging
technologies impact on the protection of those
rights. He explained that technology could be used
to protect these rights, and that his office is
about to publish guidance on Privacy Enhancing
Technologies. However, he pointed out that other
technologies could infringe upon those rights – a
high-profile example being RFID tags. However, it is
only in the use of these technologies that privacy
comes under threat, and his office is currently
producing guidance for both consumers and RFID
operators, to ensure that they are used in an
acceptable way.
A lively discussion session
followed, with the Commissioner answering questions
on topics including the possibility of forecasting
changes in technology, the impact of ubiquitous
computing on privacy, and his view on Government
initiatives which might impact on privacy, such as
the NHS database project and the ID cards bill. The
Commissioner’s answers showed that his role was not
to stop such technologies or bills, but to ensure
such technologies were used, and such bills were
enacted in a way that respected the individual’s
right to privacy.
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