In a move to crack down on the illegal trade in personal information
UK courts will soon start jailing people who trade in, or deliberately
misuse, the personal data of others, according to the Department for Constitutional Affairs.
Today's decision follows a public consultation on increasing
penalties for deliberate and wilful misuse of personal data and is part
of the Government's strategy on data sharing to deliver better public
services to individuals.
The British Government has been increasingly concerned about an
apparent growth in the trade in personal data, especially to companies
that engage in spam email and cold calling marketing tactics, and under
the new regulation, offenders could face up to two years in prison.
The current penalty of a small fine in the Data Protection Act have not provided a sufficiently strong deterrent.
2:52:28 PM 
|
