The UK Government has reiterated its commitment to consult on introducing custodial sentences as a possible penalty for individuals who breach UK data protection laws.
In a letter to the chair of Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee Keith Vaz, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said that the public would be asked whether there should be new custodial penalties for breaches of Section 55 of the Data Protection Act (DPA). Section 55 of the Act (DPA) states that it is generally unlawful for a person to ‘knowingly or recklessly without the consent of the data controller obtain or disclose personal data or the information contained in personal data, or procure the disclosure to another person of the information contained in personal data’ without the consent of those who control the data. The UK government has previously expressed scepticism about whether there is a need for the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act provisions to be brought into force, the report states. Full details on the report can be found here.
