30/04/2012
Number Of Data Protection Complaints Up 48%
The Data Protection Comissioner’s office received a record number of complaints from members of the public in 2011.
Commissioner Billy Hawkes’s annual report for 2011 reveals the 1,161 complaints related to issues such as unsolicited marketing by text message and email, and unlawful use of CCTV to monitor employees.
Prosecutions were taken by the commissioner last year against telecommunications companies Vodafone, UPC, Eircom and 02 for marketing offences.
In the case of UPC, the company entered guilty pleas to 18 charges relating to unsolicited marketing phonecalls made to four individuals who had previously told the company they did not want to receive such calls.
In one case, the company faced 12 charges for persistently calling an individual over a two-week period in 2009.
Other cases highlighted by the commissioner include excessive data collection by the Swan Leisure Centre in Rathmines, Dublin. An individual had complained that the centre had refused to allow him and his child use the swimming pool when he declined to complete its "guest registration form", which asked for personal details such as name, address, date of birth, email and mobile phone number, and medical details.
Following intervention by the commissioner’s office, the centre changed its policy, and members of the public may now use the swimming pool without filling in the form.
The 1,161 complaints last year was a 48 per cent increase on the 783 received in 2010. Complaints concerning access rights to personal data, at 562, accounted for nearly half of the overall total.
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Commissioner Billy Hawkes’s annual report for 2011 reveals the 1,161 complaints related to issues such as unsolicited marketing by text message and email, and unlawful use of CCTV to monitor employees.
Prosecutions were taken by the commissioner last year against telecommunications companies Vodafone, UPC, Eircom and 02 for marketing offences.
In the case of UPC, the company entered guilty pleas to 18 charges relating to unsolicited marketing phonecalls made to four individuals who had previously told the company they did not want to receive such calls.
In one case, the company faced 12 charges for persistently calling an individual over a two-week period in 2009.
Other cases highlighted by the commissioner include excessive data collection by the Swan Leisure Centre in Rathmines, Dublin. An individual had complained that the centre had refused to allow him and his child use the swimming pool when he declined to complete its "guest registration form", which asked for personal details such as name, address, date of birth, email and mobile phone number, and medical details.
Following intervention by the commissioner’s office, the centre changed its policy, and members of the public may now use the swimming pool without filling in the form.
The 1,161 complaints last year was a 48 per cent increase on the 783 received in 2010. Complaints concerning access rights to personal data, at 562, accounted for nearly half of the overall total.
(H)
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25% Rise In Advertising Complaints
Some 2000 complaints were lodged with the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland(ASAI) in 2012, up some 25% on 2011. The advertisement which received the most complaints (400) last year was Paddy Power’s ‘Ladies Day at Cheltenham’, which asked viewers to spot whether women in the video were born female or were transgendered.
25% Rise In Advertising Complaints
Some 2000 complaints were lodged with the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland(ASAI) in 2012, up some 25% on 2011. The advertisement which received the most complaints (400) last year was Paddy Power’s ‘Ladies Day at Cheltenham’, which asked viewers to spot whether women in the video were born female or were transgendered.
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Dublin Bay North Labour TD and member of the Oireachtas Communications committee, Sean Kenny, has welcomed comments by the Data Protection Commissioner, Billy Hawkes, that people are using the services of his office to voice their concerns on breaches of data protection.
Support For Commissioner's View On Data Protection
Dublin Bay North Labour TD and member of the Oireachtas Communications committee, Sean Kenny, has welcomed comments by the Data Protection Commissioner, Billy Hawkes, that people are using the services of his office to voice their concerns on breaches of data protection.
30 June 2011
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Irish Companies Achieve €14bn Of Exports
Enterprise Ireland’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2010 shows that Irish companies achieved €14bn export sales in 2010. Within that, Irish companies achieved a record €1.95bn of new export sales. This represents a strong rebound and recovery of 70% of the exports lost in 2009.
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Helen Dixon will leave her role as Registrar of Companies to replace Billy Hawkins as the new Data Protection Commissioner. Ms Dixon has been Registrar of Companies since 2009, and will take on her new role "within weeks", replacing Mr Hawkins, who held the role of Data Protection Commissioner for 12 years.
New Data Protection Commissioner Appointed
Helen Dixon will leave her role as Registrar of Companies to replace Billy Hawkins as the new Data Protection Commissioner. Ms Dixon has been Registrar of Companies since 2009, and will take on her new role "within weeks", replacing Mr Hawkins, who held the role of Data Protection Commissioner for 12 years.
19 July 2024
How To Get Recommendations For Your Business In Northern Ireland
Would you trust a business, or recommendations from friends and family more? All companies have a vested interest, as they are trying to sell a product. Customers know this. Thus, the best form of marketing is word of mouth, but that is not easy to get. Below, we discuss how you can find recommendations for your business in Northern Ireland.
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Would you trust a business, or recommendations from friends and family more? All companies have a vested interest, as they are trying to sell a product. Customers know this. Thus, the best form of marketing is word of mouth, but that is not easy to get. Below, we discuss how you can find recommendations for your business in Northern Ireland.
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Ireland WeatherToday:This morning will be cloudy with rain, occasionally heavy, spreading southeast. This afternoon will see some bright or sunny spells and a few showers. Freshening northerly winds. Maximum temperature 10 °C.Tonight:Any showers across northern and eastern counties dying out this evening. Otherwise it will be a dry and cold night with some frost. Light winds. Minimum temperature -1 °C.