The way government uses and stores personal data is “deeply flawed”, the Equality and Human Rights Commission said.
Current privacy law is not doing enough to stop breaches of personal data, a report published by the Commission found.
A spokeswoman said that breaches in privacy are likely to “get worse in the future” as demand for personal information increases and as new technology is developed for collecting, storing and sharing data.
The report, titled Protecting Information Privacy, suggests it is difficult for members of the public to know what information is held on them by the Government, and its agencies or private bodies.
It said that it can be hard to hold anyone to account for errors in the personal data held or its misuse.
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