ICO prosecutes more accountants over data protection

The Information Commissioner's Office has prosecuted accountant Abdul Ghafoor of Yorkshire Business Management for offences under the Data Protection Act, fining him £350 and ordering him to pay costs of £500.

Under the Act, organisations processing individuals' personal information may be reuired to notify the information commissioner at a nominal cost of £35 a year. Ghafoor's firm processes personal information but had failed to notify the commissioner.

The ICO revealed to Accountancy Age in 2005 that it was looking into the accountancy profession to check that practitioners were following the Act.

'This successful prosecution is a reminder to those organisations that are failing to notify that we stand ready to use powers to prosecute the small minority of businesses that flout the Act,' said Philip Taylor, solicitor at the ICO.

Ths ICO prosecuted practitioners last year under the Act.

Further reading:

Data protection disaster looms for thousands

Firm prosecuted for data protection failure

Contact details for Information Commissioner's Office data registration