11 Jan UK Tweaks Data Protection Bill for Protection of Researchers
Several amendments to the UK’s Data Protection Bill which will decriminalize re-identification of data under certain circumstances, have recently been drafted. The changes, introduced by Lord Ashton of Hyde, Parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, gives security researchers leeway to perform “effectiveness testing”, as long as they report the re-identification to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) within three days.
Lukasz Olejnik, a privacy researcher and critic of re-identification bans, welcomed the amendments by Lord Ashton. He said that it lessens the worry of security researchers who act in the interest of the public. Olejnik also pointed out that technology has made bad policing “a risk to society”, and that in certain situations, regulation intended to increase privacy protections may actually decrease it.
Source: The Register
