In its annual report, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has revealed a record number of data protection and freedom of information complaints in the financial year 2013-2014.
Following this year’s revelations by Edward Snowden, and the continued growth of ‘big data’, the cloud and social networking, the report shows a 10% year on year increase in data protection complaints, and a 12% rise in freedom of information complaints.
The ICO is pushing for greater funding and powers. The Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, has stated that the ICO should be an independent body which is fully capable of keeping the public’s data safe. This, however, will require the strength and the money to deal with breaches which could potentially affect millions of people.
In the last week, the government has started to push its Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Bill through Parliament, signifying the importance currently placed on data protection. This could be the perfect time for the ICO to make a play for greater powers.