Seanad debates

Thursday, 3 April 2003

Data Protection (Amendment) Bill 2002 [ Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil ] : Report and Final Stages.

 

Amendment No. 6 includes the phrase "including personal data that is required by law to be made available to the public". The Minster stated that where personal data obtained from such a source is to be used for direct marketing, the person to whom the data relate must be informed by the data controller that he or she has the right to object, free of charge. That is certainly a useful amendment, but how does a person object? In order for people to object, they need to know the personage of the Data Protection Commissioner and know that the commissioner is in place. While no doubt the Commissioner himself has tried to inform the public as to the functions of his office, many people do not know that this office exists. There would need to be a significant campaign to make this amendment workable, because if people know they have the right to object, they must know the person to whom their objections should be made.

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