Internet privacy stepped up with new rules

Tuesday 16 October 2007

Websites which publish people’s personal details such as their criminal record or sexual preferences will face heavy fines if the privacy protection body CBP gets its way.

The organisation has just published new recommendations to increase internet privacy which would give people the right to demand information about them is removed from websites.

‘The publication of personal details on the internet can follow people for years,’ the CBP notes. ‘Personal details should therefore be used with caution, particularly on the internet.’

The CBP includes names, addresses, telephone numbers, photographs and other personal details. ‘This means that drunken wedding photographs can also be removed on request,’ NOS reported.

While privacy laws have always stretched to include the internet there were a number of grey areas. The new recommendations state that private individuals must give permission for information about them to be put on the internet. Websites which refuse to remove unwanted information face civil court proceedings.

The CBP's proposals will now be put out to consultation before actual guidelines are finalised.

See also Sidelines

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