The Code of Practice aims to give a clear policy for employers.
Ms France said:
“British citizens have become much more
rights aware... They may not know about the Acts specifically, but
they know they have rights in relation to their personal data and
they are beginning to ask questions.
“There is a whole area of rights here that
have to be balanced against freedom of expression and the proper
interests of business.”
There has been controversy from privacy groups and others over
the new Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, which received
Royal Assent on Friday of last week. The new Act gives authorities
certain powers to intercept e-mail and other communications.
An investigation is being carried out by Ms France's office into
a recent breach of Data Protection rules by Powergen, when around
2,000 names, addresses and credit card numbers of customers were
accidentally revealed on the company’s web site.
