Thanks Kevin,
It was contact details for local clubs and societies on our library service
web site that I was thinking about. All contacts have been informed that any
information they supply will be available to anyone that has access to the
World Wide Web and have signed a form giving their consent for the
information being held and published on our web site. The views that you
have expressed echo my own that to supply the information collected would
constitute a different purpose and would therefore go against the second
principle.
I was asked the question that as the information was already publicly
available there was surely no problem in supplying the information to anyone
asking for it. I told the person that as the information wasn't collected
with this in mind we would have to get in touch with those contacts already
held to ask them to consent to their information being passed to others for
this purpose. Also that in future any forms would have to amended to allow
contacts the opportunity to "opt in" for marketing purposes.
Thanks again for your reply ... it's always good to hear confirmation that
you are thinking the right way.
Graeme
----- Original Message -----
From: Broadfoot, Kevin <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: 22 Jan 2001 13:35
Subject: RE: Club & Society Contact Details
> Hi!
>
> I'm not sure I can answer but I have had to deal with a similar situation
> for a London Borough library service that wanted to place contact details
> for local societies on their new web site. In this case the information
> usually consisted of name, home address and a telephone number. In a very
> few cases it also included an email address.
>
> Regarding whether another organisation can use the information for direct
> marketing purposes without reference back, justifying this by considering
> the data subject to have waived their rights by allowing their
information
> to be published on the Web? -
>
> I don't know the legal answer but I would suggest that whatever the legal
> position it will be very difficult in practice to prevent this attitude
from
> prevailing. You don't say what details would be placed on the sites but I
> seem to recall some 1995 CCTA guidelines that advised against the placing
of
> personal details on web sites. I can see why details would be included
in
> a site but suggest that you anonymise the data as best as possible,
> providing only the bare minimum contact details. Also I suggest that you
> ensure the individuals concerned have understood to what they are
consenting
> i.e. they fully appreciate that placing their details on the Web makes
them
> publicly and globally available.
>
>
> My solution was to provide only a title and club house address where
> possible rather than give personal details e.g. instead of Ms A Knight,
> ...home address etc.... we simply put The Secretary, Bishop's Chess Club
> together with the address of a regular meeting place if available or an
> email address if this didn't obviously identify the individual. Only if
> there was no other alternative or the individual agreed did we use a
> domestic address or home phone number. Although it may not have been
> completely satisfactory we hoped that this approach would still enable the
> club to be contacted by legitimately interested persons but allow an
> individual to retain some sort of anonymity! It also helped a with site
> maintenance since we weren't forever changing contact addresses as local
> society officials changed following each annual meeting!
>
> Regarding the second question "can the data controller of the internet
> database pass any data to another individual/organisation without
obtaining
> consent from the data subject if the information is available in the
"public
> domain" anyway i.e. the Internet?"
>
> When the information is originally provided it is for a purpose, which
> appears to be 'to enable other interested individuals to make legitimate
> contact'. To do so the information is place in a 'public domain' but this
> doesn't in itself remove ethical or legal responsibilities. To use the
> information for a purpose other than that for which it is provided is a
> breach of the second principle.
>
> Hope this is useful. I'm interested in the views/experience of others.
>
> regards,
>
> Kevin Broadfoot
> IS Adviser
>
> Business Link London North, 312 High Rd., Tottenham, London N15 4BN
> tel 020 8376 6262 fax 020 8376 623
>
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