Data protection laws - Breaches are intolerable

The successful prosecution of three insurance firms for breaching data protection laws is a welcome development.

The case involves three well-known companies — Zurich, FBD and Travelers — which pleaded guilty to breaches of the data protection laws by using social welfare information obtained by a private investigator.

What is worrying about this scenario is the possibility that dodgy civil servants could be bribed to pass on sensitive information about people’s private business. In the event, the commissioners were alerted by the Department of Social Protection to a possible breach of data protection laws in December 2010, indicating that private investigators had obtained information from a source there.

If this goes on, no one’s privacy can be guaranteed. Thus, it is reassuring to see the level of co-operation between agencies of the State in such matters, especially as the Data Commissioners suspect that other companies are also at it.

Hopefully, the gravity of this case, which is currently the subject of a separate Garda investigation, will send out a message that information must be lawfully obtained. Given the appalling scandal involving a private investigator and unscrupulous elements of the media in Britain, it is vital to ensure that such illegal practices never get a grip in this country.