Context
In last week’s update we included details of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport publishing details of the Data Reform Bill. This week, the ICO has commented on press reporting in relation to nuisance calls and how the UK Government (as part of the Data Reform Bill) has proposed to increase fines for organisations in breach the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), which aims to prevent people being contacted for marketing purposes without consent.
Key points to note
- There is a proposal to increase the ICO’s power from the current £500,000 maximum fine up to £17.5 million or up to 4% global turnover, whichever is greater.
- The ICO reports that, since May 2021, 37 fines have been issued, totalling £3.04 million to companies for nuisance calls and messages – a number of which we have covered in our weekly regulatory updates.
Next actions
None – for information and awareness.