Agreed. There are a few points:
1. Only screen when justified by the position being recruited for (I am assuming you are talking about employment) - principle 3.
2. Inform data subject what screening is going on - principle 1, part II (paras 2 and 3).
3. Treat what is found on social networking sites with scepticism (principle 3 again), but nothing inherently wrong with doing this.
4. Be careful re discrimination laws - you will become aware of race, marital status, and so on.
5. Subjects can be informed in the employment application form. (In the Financial services world where I advise a lot, there is sometimes a specific "consent" form provided to explain what will be checked and how.)
Some of these issues are covered in the Employment Practices Code by the ICO (section 1.3 on vetting).
Nothing changes, I think if a service company is doing this for you; they are your data processor. So remember Principle 7 and put a contract in place etc.
Renzo
Renzo Marchini
Dechert LLP
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+44 (0) 20 7184 7001 fax
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-----Original Message-----
From: This list is for those interested in Data Protection issues [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Matt Morrison
Sent: 22 November 2010 09:06
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [data-protection] Screening companies using publicly available information
Hi all
I'm after opinions about screening companies that use publicly available
information, for example - entering a surname and address into a piece of
software that then matches that data against other publicly available
information that will then give you a profile.
My feeling is that this is a clear use of personal data and the subjects
should be notified, but am having trouble convincing others. Their argument
is that all the information is in the public domain so there is no invasion
of privacy.
Any thoughts welcome.
Thanks
Matt Morrison
Information Rights Officer
University of Bristol
[log in to unmask]
0117 3317751 (ex.17751)
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