ICO consults on discounts for early settlement - responses by 23 January



The ICO has issued a consultation to seek organisations’ views on the processes the ICO follows when it suspects a breach of the UK GDPR or the Data Protection Act 2018.

For example, the ICO is clarifying the discounts on fines in cases where there is a settlement (p.82 in the guidance):

  • 40% if settled prior to the Notice of Intent;
  • 30% if settled before representations on the Notice of Intent;
  • and 20% thereafter.

These are the maximum amounts and decisions would be made on a case-by-case basis. The ICO says:

“If we are concerned that the settlement process is not progressing as quickly as possible because of delays caused by the controller or processor or we consider it is not co-operating fully with the process, we may decide to bring the process to an end or reduce the available discount (based on the time taken and the use of our resources). If so, we give the controller or processor notice that we are minded to do this before taking that decision.”

Tim Capel, ICO Executive Director, Regulatory Supervision, said:

“The new guidance is significantly more detailed than the previous guidance on our approach to investigations and enforcement.”

“It clearly sets out the processes we follow and the factors we consider when using our powers. We hope that this additional clarity and transparency is welcome. We’re keen to hear from law firms, data protection officers, privacy professionals and anyone else with an interest on what they think about the draft guidance.”

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