Concerns over care.data scheme have been heightened by Edward Snowden's revelations, says Christopher Graham
The row over the government's care.data scheme is a "line in the sand" that shows Britons' growing awareness of the value of their personal data, says the Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham.
Allied to the revelations from the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden first published in the Guardian in summer 2013, there is now "widespread public unease" over government use and access to data, said Graham.
"Citizens and consumers expect organisations to be open and upfront with how their information will be used," Graham said, in advance of a speech on Monday to data protection professionals. "In a digital age, this knowledge is invaluable, and shows why the [data protection] act is so important."
The care.data scheme aimed to anonymously share GP and hospital medical records of millions of Britons in order to help diagnosis of drug side-effects and the performance of hospital surgical units and procedures by tracking their impact on patients.
But widespread unease expressed by doctors and patient groups led in February to the scheme being put on hold for six months, rather than beginning in April. All 26m households were meant to have been informed about the plan, but roughly two-thirds of people asked said they had not seen them.
Emma Carr, deputy director of Big Brother Watch, said: "The Information Commissioner is absolutely right to acknowledge that the care.data scheme was paused because the public have very little confidence in the way our medical records are handled. What has been demonstrated is that a lack of transparency around how our data is used and who has access to it undermines any positive aspects that a medical data scheme may achieve. A simple step to restore public confidence would be to introduce custodial sentences for those who unlawfully access and disclose our personal information."
Ahead of his speech, Graham said that he had warned organisations last year that "the public are now waking up to the value of their personal information and the importance of treating it properly. Any organisation or business that failed to handle people's information properly in 2013, I said, would quickly find themselves losing trust and losing customers."
The Snowden revelations – which have revealed widespread data trawling by the UK and US spy agencies – together with the care.data row "provoked widespread public unease," Graham said.
In November, Graham criticised the spy agencies' data collection, warning that "security cannot trump every other consideration… We don't have that public confidence [in the security services]. That has been the real damage."
The latest row, he said, were part of an emerging trend towards the public seeing greater value in their data. "We should see these developments as a line in the sand. Members of the public know this country has a data protection act, they understand it requires organisations and companies to look after their information properly."
Graham's predecessor, Richard Thomas, warned in 2004 that Britain was "sleepwalking into a surveillance society" through its widespread use of CCTV cameras. Graham echoed that in November 2010, warning that new privacy safeguards were needed as surveillance increased. Reported by guardian.co.uk 22 hours ago.
The row over the government's care.data scheme is a "line in the sand" that shows Britons' growing awareness of the value of their personal data, says the Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham.
Allied to the revelations from the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden first published in the Guardian in summer 2013, there is now "widespread public unease" over government use and access to data, said Graham.
"Citizens and consumers expect organisations to be open and upfront with how their information will be used," Graham said, in advance of a speech on Monday to data protection professionals. "In a digital age, this knowledge is invaluable, and shows why the [data protection] act is so important."
The care.data scheme aimed to anonymously share GP and hospital medical records of millions of Britons in order to help diagnosis of drug side-effects and the performance of hospital surgical units and procedures by tracking their impact on patients.
But widespread unease expressed by doctors and patient groups led in February to the scheme being put on hold for six months, rather than beginning in April. All 26m households were meant to have been informed about the plan, but roughly two-thirds of people asked said they had not seen them.
Emma Carr, deputy director of Big Brother Watch, said: "The Information Commissioner is absolutely right to acknowledge that the care.data scheme was paused because the public have very little confidence in the way our medical records are handled. What has been demonstrated is that a lack of transparency around how our data is used and who has access to it undermines any positive aspects that a medical data scheme may achieve. A simple step to restore public confidence would be to introduce custodial sentences for those who unlawfully access and disclose our personal information."
Ahead of his speech, Graham said that he had warned organisations last year that "the public are now waking up to the value of their personal information and the importance of treating it properly. Any organisation or business that failed to handle people's information properly in 2013, I said, would quickly find themselves losing trust and losing customers."
The Snowden revelations – which have revealed widespread data trawling by the UK and US spy agencies – together with the care.data row "provoked widespread public unease," Graham said.
In November, Graham criticised the spy agencies' data collection, warning that "security cannot trump every other consideration… We don't have that public confidence [in the security services]. That has been the real damage."
The latest row, he said, were part of an emerging trend towards the public seeing greater value in their data. "We should see these developments as a line in the sand. Members of the public know this country has a data protection act, they understand it requires organisations and companies to look after their information properly."
Graham's predecessor, Richard Thomas, warned in 2004 that Britain was "sleepwalking into a surveillance society" through its widespread use of CCTV cameras. Graham echoed that in November 2010, warning that new privacy safeguards were needed as surveillance increased. Reported by guardian.co.uk 22 hours ago.