Data Protection and FOI

Data Protection and FOI Human right all sectors focus on privacy Right of access FOI Citizen’s right public sector only focus on openness Right of access

DP/FOI Access to Personal Information DP and FOI Acts reinforce one another in relation to personal access in the public sector Defending access to personal information as human (DP) and citizen (FOI) right 3rd Party Access restricted under both Acts FOI access to personal information should sometimes prevail in the public interest

Data Protection & FOI If a body is considering refusal of access under the FOI Act, it should check that such refusal is permitted under the DP Acts and vice versa. A decision on the request should be issued within the most favourable time-scale provided for by law (usually that under FOI).

Data Protection & FOI Department of Finance Central Policy Unit – Notice No. 23 on Data Protection and Freedom of Information in the Public Sector Where a request is made to a public body by, or on behalf of, a person seeking access to their own personal information under the FOI Act, this request should also be taken as a request under the DP Acts. If a public body considers that the release of records is exempt under one Act, their possible release under the other Act should be considered as a separate exercise.

Access right: DP v FOI FOI - Public Interest (s 28(5)(a)) when “on balance, the public interest that the request should be granted outweighs the public interest that the right to privacy of the individual to whom the information relates should be upheld” Information Commissioner: Case No 99001- “the protection of personal privacy afforded by s.28 exemption is intended to be a strong one”

DP and FOI A right conferred by the Data Protection Act shall not prejudice the exercise of a right conferred by the Freedom of Information Act 1997. The Commissioner and the Information Commissioner shall, in the performance of their functions, co-operate with and provide assistance to each other (DP Act 2003)