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Businesses must be aware of financial penalties for not complying with data protection rules. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is well-known as the independent body that enforces data protection rules. The primary data protection law is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The ICO helps businesses comply with the GDPR and enforces action against non-compliant companies. If the ICO believes your business is breaching the GDPR, it may impose a fine of up to £17.5m. This article will explore how the ICO decides whether to fine a business and how much the subsequent penalty will be. Accordingly, your business can evaluate the cost of GDPR compliance against the potential fine.
Why Does the ICO Impose Fines?
The ICO ensures businesses handle data safely and fairly. Without repercussions, companies may try to reduce costs by breaching data protection rules, such as ignoring Subject Access Requests. Therefore, by issuing fines, the ICO deters businesses from breaching GDPR rules.
When Does the ICO Impose Fines?
Theoretically, the ICO can impose a fine for any breach of the GDPR.
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How Much Could the ICO Fine My Business?
The ICO may issue fines of up to £17.5m. In addition, between 2020 and 2021, the ICO issued £42m of financial penalties within enforcement action against companies. In reality, excessive fines are rare and generally limited to significant breaches. Moreover, most fines are lower, as the corresponding data breaches will affect a small number of people. Nevertheless, your business may still receive a fine in the region of tens of thousands of pounds for GDPR breaches.
Mitigating Circumstances
Depending on the nature of the data protection breach, the ICO may acknowledge mitigating circumstances and reduce the fine.
Key Takeaways
Overall, the ICO aims to help businesses protect customer data. By issuing penalties to non-compliant businesses, companies are less likely to breach GDPR rules. However, the ICO will consider mitigating circumstances and may reduce penalties accordingly. In addition, the ICO provides practical guidance on its website. This guidance can help your business avoid enforcement notices and financial penalties and achieve good data protection practices.
If you need help with data protection rules and ICO investigations into potential violations of the GDPR, our experienced Data, Privacy and IT lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, the ICO can provide the equivalent of a written warning and ask a business to implement avoidance measures. However, the ICO is only likely to do so to first-time offenders who have only committed a minor violation of the GDPR with minimal impact on individuals.
Essentially, yes. The General Data Protection Regulation 2018 is known as the UK GDPR, GDPR 2018 and EU GDPR. This can be confusing when making internet searches for guidance, but they all contain the same rules and principles.
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