Information Commissioner's Office
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| Formation | 1984 (Data Protection Registrar) |
|---|---|
| Legal status | Governmental office |
| Headquarters | Wilmslow, Cheshire |
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Region served
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United Kingdom |
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Information Commissioner
|
Elizabeth Denham (July 2016) |
| Website | www |
| Remarks | Appointment: 29 June 2009 |
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO; stylised as ico.) in the United Kingdom, is a non-departmental public body which reports directly to Parliament and is sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). It is the independent regulatory office (national data protection authority) dealing with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 across the UK; and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and, to a limited extent, in Scotland.
The Information Commissioner is an independent official appointed by the Crown. The Commissioner's decisions are subject to the supervision of the Courts and the Information Tribunal. The Office's mission is to "uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals". The role of Information Commissioner is currently held by Elizabeth Denham who succeeded Christopher Graham in July 2016.
During his time as Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham was noted for gaining new powers to issue monetary penalties to those who breach the Data Protection Act 1998. He has also welcomed new powers to issue monetary penalties under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, as well as raising concerns over harm and distress caused by nuisance call to the public. Christopher Graham succeeded Richard Thomas in 2009. During Richard Thomas' tenure as Commissioner, the ICO was particularly noted for raising serious concerns over the Government's proposed British national identity card and database, as well as other similar databases such as the Citizen Information Project, Universal Child Database, and the NHS National Programme for IT, stating that the country is in danger of sleepwalking into a surveillance society, drawing attention to the misuse of such information by the former states of the Eastern bloc and Francisco Franco's Spain.
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