Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many data protection complaints were lodged with the Information Commissioner's Office in 2024; of these, in respect of how many the ICO took regulatory action; and what conclusions they draw from comparison of those figures.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The ICO received 41,271 complaints from January to December 2024. In that same period, the ICO issued two monetary penalty notices under GDPR totalling £757,500 and 13 monetary penalty notices under Privacy and Digital Marketing Regulations, totalling £1,270,000.
Unlike an Ombudsman, the ICO does not take regulatory action on each case but uses the information to guide its strategic direction and ensure effective use of resources. When compliance issues are identified, the ICO often provides advice to improve information rights handling, leading to significant improvements.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to invite the Equality and Human Rights Commission to review the rights implications of the Information Commissioner's Office regulatory record; and if not, why not.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Although DSIT acts as the ICO’s sponsor within government, it is an independent regulator and accountable to Parliament in how it carries out its duties.
The Data (Use and Access) Bill, which was introduced in the House of Commons on Thursday 6 February, introduces a new governance structure for the ICO – including a new statutory board - to bring it into line with regulatory best practice. The Bill also seeks to introduce new reporting requirements on the ICO, including annual metrics on its investigations, their outcomes and use of its powers. This will bring greater transparency and accountability.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they consider predictive text engines such as ChatGPT and Google's LaMDA BARD to be within the scope of the Online Safety Bill, as currently drafted; and if not, what other measures they will introduce to hold companies responsible for the operation of such software should it be likely to be accessed by children or by vulnerable UK citizens.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Online Safety Bill has been designed to be technology-neutral to future-proof it and to ensure that the legislation keeps pace with emerging technologies. It will apply to companies which enable users to share content online or to interact with each other, as well as search services. Content generated by artificial intelligence ‘bots’ is in scope of the Bill, where it interacts with user-generated content, such as on Twitter. Search services using AI-powered features will also be in scope of the search duties outlined in the Bill.