Security News > 2021 > August > UK data watchdog sees its approach to government health tech during COVID-19 outbreak as 'pragmatic'

The UK's data watchdog has defended its approach to regulating government health technologies during the pandemic as "Pragmatic."

In its annual report, the Information Commissioner's Office said it had supported public health innovation, reflecting the flexibility of data protection law.

ORG said Public Health England, which launched the Test and Trace programme, had failed to carry out a Data Protection Impact Assessment before processing data in high-risk situations.

Ravi Naik, legal director of the data rights agency AWO and solicitor instructed by the Open Rights Group, said at the time: "Rushing out Test and Trace without following basic legal requirements is troubling. We trust that the ICO will act accordingly to enforce the law and bring some transparency to the Test and Trace process."

"The result was that the necessary consideration of people's data protection rights was built into national exposure notification apps, with our feedback prompting changes in areas such as transparency and improved privacy information. We also influenced the data protection by design approach, that ensured data collected and shared was minimised. Our regulatory role continued beyond the launches of these apps and included an audit of the Test and Trace ecosystem in early 2021.".

The coronavirus outbreak was cited as one of the reasons for the fall, although the introduction of mandatory breach reporting in sectors that handle large volumes of personal data has also contributed to the trend, the watchdog said.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/08/04/ico_annual_report/