Tim Trent on 16 September 2004 at 18:00 said:-
> What steps do you take now over the various issues this
> raises about you and
> your personal life?
>
> I see some obvious parties here:
>
> * The person who lost (released?) the file
> * The person who used the information it contained
>
> Which are culpable, if any? Which laws have been
> transgressed? And how do
> you put this right without additional attendant publicity.
>
> I am only addressing this to you, Ian, because you brought it up as an
> excellent example. Again I make absolutely no suggestion of
> any description
> about your health or private life, neither of which I have
> any knowledge
> about.
If one could not use the ICO's office one must assume that legal litigation
through the public courts may be an available route, dependent on costs or
legal access of course. But that would necessarily mean additional
attendant publicity, whereas recourse to the ICO would entail neither of
those additional difficulties.
The example I gave was drawn from an actual incident many years ago (DPA
1984 period) where the hard copy file found contained old computer printout
(the records having been weeded from the computer many months before). When
then considering that some computer printout on its own, taken out of the
context of its original data holding, where the paper copy is not
specifically focused on the individual, could now fail to meet the personal
data test, the example seemed relevant and certainly is extreme.
Ian W
> -----Original Message-----
> From: This list is for those interested in Data Protection
> issues [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tim Trent
> Sent: 16 September 2004 18:00
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Extreme example
>
>
> Let's make it personal. And in this I am making no actual
> suggestions about
> your or anyone else here's lifestyle.
>
> Ian, this putative file contained the result of your own HIV
> test. (I am
> not suggesting you have had one or are in any way at risk
> from HIV, even by
> blood transfusion in a high risk African nation. I am certainly not
> suggesting anything at all about your HIV status). It has
> been found and
> the finder has used the information it contained.
>
> People view HIV status as indicative of a huge number of
> things, and they
> assume a great deal about those who are tested, let alone
> those who are
> HIV+. Common pejorative assumptions include "IV Drug User",
> "Practising
> homosexual" (I always wondered why one needs to practice;
> same with doctors,
> really). Such things are highly sensitive and totally
> personal. They may
> properly be released into the public domain only by the
> individual concerned
>
> What steps do you take now over the various issues this
> raises about you and
> your personal life?
>
> I see some obvious parties here:
>
> * The person who lost (released?) the file
> * The person who used the information it contained
>
> Which are culpable, if any? Which laws have been
> transgressed? And how do
> you put this right without additional attendant publicity.
>
> I am only addressing this to you, Ian, because you brought it up as an
> excellent example. Again I make absolutely no suggestion of
> any description
> about your health or private life, neither of which I have
> any knowledge
> about.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: This list is for those interested in Data Protection issues
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ian Welton
> Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2004 5:18 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [data-protection] Extreme example
>
> Thinking about extreme examples :
>
> Would the ICO have any power to take action if an unstructured file
> containing sensitive material about an individual, but not
> falling within
> todays personal data definition, was found blowing down the street?
>
> What recourse for action would the individual concerned have?
>
> Ian W
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