The recent case of Green v. Group Ltd and others [2019] EWHC 954 (Ch) dealing with Cambridge Analytica’s insolvency has clarified the approach that administrators should take when subject access requests are made to the companies over which they are appointed.
A failed administration…
In the aftermath of the notorious data analytics activities of Cambridge…
On 10 July 2018, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced its intent to fine Facebook £500,000 for two breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998, the maximum permitted under the pre-GDPR regime. If the penalty is enforced, it will be the biggest issued by the ICO in its history. For some perspective, had the breach occurred following the implementation of the General Data Protection Legislation 2016/679 (GDPR), the social network could have faced a fine of up to £359 million. Facebook now has a chance to respond to the ICO’s Notice of Intent, after which a final decision will be made.
Less than 30 days after issuing a Notice of Intent to fine Facebook, the ICO issued a further penalty as a result of the investigation, this time directed at Lifecycle Marketing (Mother and Baby) Ltd, also known as Emma’s Diary, a data broking company which provides advice on pregnancy and childcare. The ICO issued a £140,000 fine against Emma’s Diary for illegally collecting and selling personal information belonging to more than one million people.
Background
Facebook, alongside Cambridge Analytica, has been the focus of an ICO investigation for over a year. The investigation centred around the use data analytics in political campaigns and was spearheaded by Information Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham. The investigation was formally commenced in May 2017 following the unearthing of evidence that personal data from over 87 million Facebook accounts had been illegally harvested. The ICO described it as one of the largest investigations ever undertaken by a data protection authority, this being reflected in the most recent estimate of the cost of the investigation, which has been put at almost three times the level of the fine with which Facebook has been issued. In addition to the fine, the ICO announced its intent to bring a criminal prosecution against SCL Elections Ltd, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica, for being too slow to adequately respond to an enforcement notice issued in May of this year.…
Continue Reading What big data, political advertising and big fines have in common
