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Thatcher’s data protection legacy: Just fill out this 16-page form
From ‘the least of Blighty’s worries’ to vital, essential right
Comment Successive UK governments have seen data protection more as a cost overhead to be minimised than as an essential protection for the individual in an electronic age. This view started with Margaret Thatcher’s first government and has endured for over three decades.
During the 1970s, there were a number of white papers and reports, starting with the Younger Report on Privacy (in 1972) and ending with the Lindop Committee’s report on Data Protection (December 1978). So when Thatcher came to power in May 1979, it is fair to say that data protection was an item on the agenda but following the “winter of discontent”, it was probably very close to “AOB”*.
Like a Lothario tasked with defining a law of celibacy…
The Lindop Committee’s proposals were not well-received at the time, especially by the Home Office which had responsibility for data protection policy as well as its traditional law enforcement areas (eg, national security and policing). It is difficult to imagine now, but the Home Office – whose main functions required the invasion of privacy – had also the responsibility towards the policy that protected individual privacy. In this way, the Home Office was acting like a Lothario who has been tasked with defining a law of celibacy.
Philosophers stone – selected views from the boat
http://philosophers-stone.co.uk
2013-04-15 09:23:27
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