KENNY SUPPORTS DATA PROTECTION COMMISSIONER'S VIEW ON PERSONAL DATA

Posted on January 7, 2014 3:21 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Dublin Bay North Labour TD and member of the Oireachtas Communications committee, Sean Kenny, has today welcomed comments by the Data Protection Commissioner, Billy Hawkes, that people are using the services of his office to voice their concerns on breaches of data protection.

"Mr. Hawkes said that people are making complaints in increasing numbers regarding the refusal or failure of organisations to give them access to their personal data. This is becoming a serious issue, more serious than the issue of 'spam' or junk e-mail and privacy."

"I would think that it is likely that the number of complaints to the Data Protection Commissioner made in respect of personal data, will be very close to the number of, or perhaps greater than, the number of complaints made regarding junk e-mail.""

"I am aware of cases where the right of access to personal data has been made by lawyers representing citizens who wish to gain access to their personal records held by financial institutions or employers."

"It is also very important that we examine the protection of personal data undertaken by companies, and the steps they take to protect that data against hacking. There have been several episodes of this over the last year and companies must take all required steps to ensure that the data of customers is protected from hacking, which is often carried out by criminals."

"The bottom line is that when it comes to personal data companies have responsibilities to securely store this information, and should not forget that fact."