The Department of Constitutional Affairs has recommended an changing the maximum sentence for the offence of unlawfully trading personal data. The new maximum will be 2 years imprisonment. This is an offence under section 55 of the Data Protection Act 1998.
At present, the Data Protection Act 1998 does not allow the courts to imprison people for this offence. See, for example, the 18 month community sentence handed to a private detective found guilty of the offence.
The government's decision is in line with the recommendation made by the Information Commissioner in its 2006 report "What Price Privacy?", reiterated in its follow-up report "What Price Privacy Now?".
The DCA report states the UK government's view:
"The Government believes that the introduction of custodial penalties will be an effective deterrent to those who seek to procure or wilfully abuse personal data, as agreed by the majority of respondents. It is clear that current financial sanctions are not solely a sufficient deterrent to those engaged in the illegal trade in personal information."
I can't argue with that. Being in prison is going to hinder the amount of detecting a private detective can do - a good disincentive to break the law for money.
Comments