[Infowarrior] - Œ Surveillance society ¹ warning on data sharing

[Richard Forno]

ŒSurveillance society¹ warning on data sharing

By Michael Peel, Legal Correspondent

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/fdf57d8c-4458-11dc-90ca-0000779fd2ac.html

Published: August 6 2007 22:21 | Last updated: August 6 2007 22:21

Confidential personal data ­ gleaned from sources as diverse as driving
licences, medical records and store loyalty cards ­ is now often shared
without people¹s knowledge, the information commission will warn on Tuesday,
in its latest salvo against what it calls the ³surveillance society².

The commission says the increasingly complex web of information sharing ­
involving the public and private sectors, and bodies ranging from hospitals
to credit reference agencies ­ can make it hard for people to assert their
legal rights to view information held about them.

The commission does not name specific organisations, but its comments echo a
growing debate over the increasingly widespread and sophisticated use of
information gathered by official agencies and businesses.

The data can be gleaned from sources such as supermarket loyalty cards and
Transport for London¹s Oyster plastic travel ticket.

Simon Davies, director of Privacy International, said there was ³almost zero
awareness² among the public of the detail of how data was shared, meaning
that in some organisations sharing of information was becoming the
³default².

³Very soon, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to stop the data
sharing juggernaut,² he said.

Richard Thomas, the information commissioner, has stressed that such sharing
can be valuable in some circumstances, but he is also worried it is
developing with very little accompanying public debate.

Privacy specialists say the importance of tight monitoring of data-sharing
has become ever more acute due to the rise of company marketing databases
such as those of the loyalty programmes Tesco Clubcard and Nectar.

The subject has attracted the attention of the Commons home affairs select
committee, which in June examined how loyalty card information is shared
with the police.

Tesco said it only shared information with law enforcement authorities when
³absolutely necessary², adding that its safeguards to prevent misuse of the
personal information it held were ³pretty foolproof².

Another focus of debate is Transport for London¹s Oyster card, which has
been embraced by police as a tool for tracking the movements of suspected
criminals. ³There is no bulk disclosure of data,² TfL said.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007