ICO to receive more funding to enforce DRIP (data retention) Act

The Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act, adopted quickly earlier this month (see PL&B’s e-news dated 14th July) will force mobile and landline providers and ISPs to store details of their customers' phone calls, text messages and emails for a maximum of 12 months.

Christopher Graham, the UK’s Information Commissioner, announced today on BBC Radio 5 Live's Wake Up To Money programme that his office has gained new funding from the Home Office: "In 2015-16, I would expect to be able to recruit another team of auditors” specifically for monitoring that the affected companies’ data collection and retention do not go beyond the scope of the law. He also said: "If you're monitoring a certain number of companies, then that only has credibility if the regulator has the manpower to do that."

The new law replaces the Data Retention Regulations 2009, and clarifies the circumstances under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) in which a warrant can be issued. The government has said that the data law does not add any new powers, and is vital in the fight against crime and terrorism.