Council guilty of data breach by posting identities online

Data protection watchdogs at the Information Commissioner’s Office have deemed that York Council has broken guidelines after it emerged the authority’s online system allows the public to view all reported incidents and the name of the person who provided the details.

The Information Commissioner’s Office has decided not to take any further legal action against the Labour-run council on the understanding that the system will be changed to protect the privacy of users

Residents now have the option to use a pseudonym to preserve their privacy.

The issue was first raised by Liberal Democrat member Nigel Ayre in July, after the council had launched the mobile phone “app” in March via the Smarter York website.

It allows anyone with a smart phone to take a picture of problems such as littering or graffiti and send it with details of the location to the authority.

But Coun Ayre maintained the information that is posted online was putting public-spirited residents at risk as the offenders
could “potentially seek retribution”.

He added: “Residents should be able to contact the council in confidence without their details and the nature of their complaint being published on a website.

“I hope this will be a lesson for Labour, but I fear there will be further complaints upheld against the council due to the way they are running things.”

The council stressed that it has taken “robust action and put safeguard measures in place” since the Information Commissioner’s Office investigation.

The council’s head of legal and governance, Andrew Docherty, claimed the Smarter York app is a standard system and is widely used by local authorities across the UK.

Mr Docherty added: “Customers are not required to supply any personal information and they can send enquiries through anonymously. Should they choose to provide an email address this enables the council to send updates on the progress of their inquiry.”