The European Commission has released details as to why it sees the UK Data Protection Act as an improper implementation of Directive 95/46/EC, so much so, that it is considering infraction proceedings. Correspondence between the Commission and the UK Government has been exchanged, and despite the possibility of litigation, very little has been published or explained to MPs or MEPs.
Hence the “liberation” of information from the Commission about these infraction proceedings is very timely. It is also the result of an FOI request that commenced in April 2007 and which culminated in the involvement of the European Ombudsman from 2009. These details were released to me last week (February 2011) and are published for the first time below (see references).
Read more on Amberhawk’s HawkTalk. The Commission’s response to Chris Pounder’s FOI request can be found on that site as well as related documents.
Out-Law.com also discusses the response and its implications, with links to additional materials.