Landmark Rulings On Data Protection Law - Businesses Beware!

The Data Protection Commissioner (Commissioner) has warned that a recent landmark prosecution of three companies for data protection breaches demonstrates that there will be "severe consequences" for organisations which are found to have breached data protection law.

The three companies, all insurance firms, pleaded guilty in February 2012 to having illegally used a private investigator to obtain social welfare information on a number of their customers. The information, which included PPS numbers, dates of birth, addresses, details of employment and earnings and social welfare claims, was obtained by the Commissioner via a leak from the Department of Social Protection.

The Commissioner's 2008 "Code of Practice on Data Protection in the Insurance Sector" sets out specific guidelines in relation to the disclosure of personal information to private investigators.