ICO revamp ‘rotten idea’ says Graham

ico revamp rotten idea says graham.jpg 2Information Commissioner Christopher Graham has hit out at a proposal to overhaul his role, branding plans to replace the ICO with a collective of commissioners “a rotten idea”.
Graham made the claim while delivering Liverpool John Moores University’s prestigious Roscoe lecture, in which he talked about the role of the Information Commissioner and broader information rights issues.
His office is currently under a Triennial Review; part of the Government’s commitment to making sure that non-departmental public bodies continue to have regular independent challenge.
The review is designed to examine the key functions of the ICO and consider how best these can be delivered, including whether they should continue to exist at arm’s length from Government.
One idea is to replace the current role with a regulatory body run by a number of commissioners. Graham said: “Any re-constituting of the ICO would follow the completion of my term as Commissioner in June next year so I can be thoroughly dispassionate about it. I think it’s a rotten idea.
“The suggestion that decision making within the ICO is not already collective is mistaken and our management board, including non-executive members, oversees corporate governance issues. But appointing, on top of the expert and experienced staff, more commissioners to argue things out would only lead to delays and increase costs without any benefits that I can see.
“We have many, many stakeholders. We listen to them. We will continue to work hard to understand and respond to their concerns. But this does not mean that their specific interests should be directly represented within a board of commissioners.”
Graham was upbeat when the review was announced in November last year. At the time he said: “I am confident that the ICO has a good story to tell – very much at the centre of events around information rights. But we must always listen to our stakeholders and we can always learn from the best.”
The consultation, being run by the Ministry of Justice, closes this Friday (January 16).

Related stories
Data watchdog neuttered by top judge
ICO finally ensnares text spammers
Are data enforcers up to the job?
‘Hardman’ Graham flexes muscle
ICO ‘worse than incompetent’

1 Comment on "ICO revamp ‘rotten idea’ says Graham"

  1. ICO revamp is a ‘rotten idea’ says Christopher Graham http://t.co/XFvECM1psN #directmarketing #dataprotection #data #digitalmarketing

Comments are closed.