By Fredericka Argent 

On 21 February 2013, the ICO launched a consultation on its proposal for a new code of practice regulating the press in the UK.  The consultation is in response to the publication of the Leveson Report in November 2012, which recommended significant and wide-ranging changes to the structure and regulation of news reporting in the UK.  As we blogged here, the ICO responded to the Leveson Report with comments on the role of the Data Protection Act 1998 (the “DPA”) in regulating the press and promises to issue new press guidance.

The ICO has made clear that the code of practice is not intended to create any new legally binding obligations. Rather, the proposed code will lay down guidance on the application of section 32 of the DPA, which provides an exemption from compliance with certain data protection principles where personal data is processed, among other things, with a view to the publication of journalistic material in the public interest (the so-called “special purposes” exemption).  Although the precise content of the code of practice is a work-in-progress, the ICO has proposed to cover at least the following topics:Continue Reading UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office Issues Consultation on Data Protection and the Press