'Listening Exercise' for New Information Commissioner

In the UK, newly appointed Information Commissioner John Edwards has launched a 'major listening exercise', inviting businesses, organisations and individuals to provide details about their experiences of working with regulatory body the ICO.

This exercise will include a survey, and in February the ICO will hold events for business / industry and for the public sector, with guests invited to share their experiences with Edwards (pictured). Further events will involve civil society, academia and the public, with a focus on young people; and meetings will be held in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The initiative will culminate with the ICO's flagship data protection conference, DPPC2022, which is expected to take place in person and digitally in the summer. Edwards comments: 'I want to hear from businesses and organisations about their experiences. I want to know what would help you to achieve your objectives under our legislation. That information will help me to ensure the ICO can focus on a 'how to' approach, not a 'don't do'. I want to give businesses certainty in what the law requires of them and what the regulator does. It is this certainty, in my experience, that best reduces compliance costs for businesses and ensure people's privacy is protected'.

Web site: www.ico.org.uk .