ICO Names First 'Data Ethics Advisor'

In the UK, data regulator the ICO (Information Commissioner's Office) has appointed Ellis Parry as its first Data Ethics Adviser, as the organisation considers the practical implications of the growing use of personal data.

Parry (pictured) joins after more than eight years at BP, latterly as Global Lead - Data Privacy. In this role, he was responsible for devising and implementing BP's global approach to personal information handling, including the maintenance of its binding corporate rules and its global data protection and privacy compliance programme. Prior to this, he spent nearly nine years at AstraZeneca; initially as a specialist IT lawyer before moving in to the role of Global Privacy Counsel.

The ICO is already at work assessing the potential downside of new technology. Simon McDougall, Executive Director for Technology Policy and Innovation, is currently developing an approach to addressing new technological and online harms, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence and data ethics; and is also responsible for the development of a framework for auditing the use of personal data in machine learning algorithms.

Commenting on Parry's appointment, McDougall said: 'Increasingly we see broad ethical questions being raised around how data is being used. There is debate around when data protection and data ethics overlap, where they are separate, and where they may even conflict. Working through these issues demands a broad range of skills. Ellis will help ensure that the ICO contributes to data ethics discussions in a way that meets the aims of our Information Rights Strategic Plan, and in doing so helps to uphold information rights in the UK'.

Web site: www.ico.org.uk .