Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for British citizens of the evidence obtained by a Reuters investigation which suggests that Tesla employees have viewed and shared camera recordings obtained from Tesla cars in private domestic settings while the vehicle was not in use; and whether the viewing of such material relating to British citizens is lawful.

Our data protection laws impose strict obligations on both individuals and organisations to process people’s data fairly, lawfully and transparently to ensure that any data collected is processed in a way which individuals would expect.

The UK’s data protection laws are enforced independently of the Government by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). Organisations that fail to comply may be subject to enforcement action by the Information Commissioner’s Office. The Information Commissioner can impose significant financial penalties for non-compliance. The Data Protection Act 2018 also gives the ICO the power to prosecute those who commit criminal offences under the Act. Criminal offences under the Act include unlawfully obtaining, disclosing, or retaining personal data without the consent of the data controller.