Data Protection Act – Obligations of Liquidators

A judgment recently handed down from the High Court clarifies the obligations of liquidators under the Data Protection Act 1998, providing them with greater personal protection from fines or other sanctions.

Reed Smith acted for the liquidators in their application for directions.

Background

The Data Protection Act 1998 (the "Act") imposes various obligations on persons who collect, store and process individuals' data. These obligations include making an individual's information available to them upon their request (a data subject access request, or DSAR). Those persons classed as data controllers under the Act face penalties if DSARs are not responded to appropriately.

Until now, it has been largely accepted that upon taking office as a liquidator, the liquidator personally becomes a data controller in respect of any data held by the company and, therefore, assumes the statutory responsibilities as set out in the Act.