Whose Data Is It, Anyway? (Hammersmith and Fulham Liberal Democrats)

Hammersmith and Fulham Liberal Democrats <info@hflibdems.org.uk>

Whose Data Is It, Anyway?

October 5, 2009 9:39 PM

Hammersmith Today, the local news website, reports this week how a company has had to cancel an eye-catching advertising campaign in Fulham after the DVLA began investigating inappropriate use of data which it had provided to the motor industry.

Castrol Oil's ads used large electronic billboards to flash up the registration numbers of cars being driven along the Fulham Palace Road, together with details of their recommended engine oil for that model of car.

The DVLA has acknowledged that it provides the motor trade with information on registrations, makes and models of private vehicles, "to ensure vehicles are fitted with the correct parts, including brakes, tyres and oil". The DVLA insists that the information is provided for safety reasons and should not be used for commercial or marketing purposes, and Castrol in turn says that it used the information from its third party data supplier appropriately.

Paul Kennedy, vice-chair of the Hammersmith and Fulham Liberal Democrats, and the party's candidate for Councillor in the impending Town Ward by-election, says "Liberal Democrats have been sounding the alarm for some time about the increasing collection and retention of data by government agencies, and the potential for misuse of the data that increasing commercialisation brings.

"We believe that information provided by citizens to government agencies should be kept in confidence and should not be used for any purpose other than to help the agencies to carry out their functions. We fear that this Government's tendency to see personal data of citizens as something to be hoarded "just-in-case" will inevitably lead to much worse abuses".