UK Information Commissioner Comments on Durant Case

In the most recent issue of E-TIPSâ„¢ (Vol 2, No 17, February 5, 2004), it was reported that the English Court of Appeal had concluded that in order for information to be "personal data", it must be information that affects a person's privacy. Subsequently, the UK Information Commissioner released a commentary on the Court's decision and on the impact of its interpretation of the Data Protection Act, 1998 (DPA). According to the Commissioner – and consistent with the Durant case – if the focus of information is something other than the individual, for example information that focuses on a property, such as a structural survey, the information may be "about" an individual but will not "relate" to the individual and, therefore, is not personal data. However, in what could be taken as an implied criticism, the UK Information Commissioner noted that the Court of Appeal did not consider the issue of the identifiability of an individual. The Commissioner cited examples of information that was "about" property but which, in the right context, could easily be "personal data" because it is "directly linked to an individual", e.g. the valuation of a house where the valuation was being used in order to determine the assets of a particular person in a matrimonial dispute. For the text of the Report of the UK Information Commissioner, see: www.shorl.com/gydrevosivudro. Summary by: Clare McCurley