Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP is the first law firm invited to sign up to a new Government backed data protection initiative designed to help restore public confidence in data handling in the UK. The initiative, launched by the Information Commissioner, is called the “Personal Information Promise”. At the heart of the initiative is a statement of good practice which has been signed by businesses that have demonstrated leadership in the field of data protection.
Organisations including British Gas, BT, the Scottish Government and Royal Mail have signed the Personal Information Promise which the ICO hopes will send a strong signal to the public that their personal details will be handled and protected properly.
The past couple of years have seen countless headline grabbing data protection breaches across both the public and private sector, raising concerns that personal information is not always treated as seriously as it should be. By signing the Promise organisations are committing to high standards of data protection practice. The launch of the new initiative is a call to businesses to hardwire the protection of personal information into organisational culture and governance.
Field Fisher Waterhouse was asked to take part in the initiative by the Information Commissioner because of the firm’s leadership in the field of data protection. The firm’s Privacy & Information Law Group is the largest data protection practice in the UK concentrating solely on data protection issues. Led by partner Eduardo Ustaran, the five partner group advises a range of leading businesses including well known retailers, media clients and public sector bodies. Eduardo Ustaran is appointed to the panel of experts advising the world’s privacy commissioners on the adoption of international privacy standards and partner Stewart Room is President of the National Association of Data Protection Officers.
Stewart Room, the partner leading Field Fisher Waterhouse’s involvement in the Personal Information Promise Initiative said: “Recently we have seen many high profile data losses and security breaches, demonstrating that organisations across the board are still not putting in place thorough policies and procedures. We are pleased to have been asked by the ICO to take part in this initiative as it gives us the opportunity to underline our commitment to data protection standards as well as encouraging other organisations to take data protection seriously.”
Field Fisher Waterhouse, together with the other organisations who signed up to the Promise on the first day, received a mention in Parliament by Nigel Evans MP.