Podcast Episode 146:

Welcome to this week’s episode of the Data Protection Made Easy Podcast with Jasmine Harrison and Joe Kirk. In this lively discussion, we dive deep into the often overlooked principle of accountability in data protection. You won’t want to miss the insights we share. The session started out as always, with a quick look into the news of the week from the world of Data Protection, before we got into the main body of the session, with our experts sharing top tips and insights on the journey of accountability.

News Highlights:

1. ICO Reprimands PSNI Over Unlawful Data Sharing: The Police Service of Northern Ireland is reprimanded for unlawfully sharing personal data with a US law enforcement agency.
2. AI Takes Centre Stage as UK Hosts First Global Safety Summit: A global summit on AI safety features notable attendees, including Elon Musk, highlighting the significance of AI on the world stage.
3. Belgium Investigates Data Protection Breaches Over London ULEZ Fines: The Belgian Ministry for Transport investigates alleged breaches of data protection law related to fines from Transport for London.
4. Schrems Wants to Be Part of Meta’s Cases Against DPC: Max Schrems, the Austrian privacy activist, seeks to join High Court cases between Meta and the Data Protection Commission in Ireland.
5. EDPB Issues EU/EEA-Wide Ban on Meta’s Behavioural Ads: The European Data Protection Board bans Meta’s processing of personal data for behavioural advertising across the EU and EEA.
6. Italian SA Fines Utility Company €10M: The Garante fines a utility company for illegally processing out-of-date personal information in Italy.

Accountability – The Hidden Principle

The data protection field includes several principles, but accountability often remains unnoticed. The UK GDPR outlines six primary principles, with a hidden seventh – accountability.

What Does Accountability Consist Of?: Accountability encompasses data protection compliance and an organisation’s practices. It makes you responsible for complying with the UK GDPR and requires you to demonstrate that compliance.

Why Is It Important?: Accountability not only ensures better legal compliance but also provides a competitive edge. To comply, you can take various measures, including adopting data protection policies, following the ‘data protection by design and default’ approach, and more.

Accountability Framework: The ICO provides an accountability framework to check whether organisations adhere to the law and best practices. This framework highlights ten key areas, including leadership and oversight, policies and procedures, training and awareness, and individual rights.

Tune in for a thorough discussion on accountability in data protection and how organizations can meet this critical but often unnoticed principle. We’ll explore the key elements, measures, and best practices that make accountability a cornerstone of robust data protection.

For more detailed guidance on accountability and governance, you can also visit the ICO’s Accountability and Governance Guide.

Don’t Miss Part Two: While this session covers four of the ten critical areas in the accountability framework, we’ll delve even deeper in part two. Stay tuned for more insights and lively conversations on data protection!

To join our live discussions in the future or find more information about upcoming episodes, please visit our Events Page or contact us at [email protected]. We look forward to welcoming you to our growing community of data protection practitioners and enthusiasts.