By Robert Bateman

The U.K. government has shown “scant regard to both privacy concerns and data protection duties” — and the country’s privacy regulator has failed to protect the public’s personal information, according to a letter from 22 opposition politicians.

The Aug. 21 letter, signed by 22 members of Parliament from four political parties, was addressed to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) — the “data protection authority” responsible for enforcing privacy law in the U.K.

The office is headed by Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham.

The government has been accused of breaching privacy law on numerous occasions throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, including in July, when it admitted that it had not assessed the privacy risks involved in its “test and trace” program properly.

By Robert Bateman

The U.K. government has admitted that its COVID-19 “test and trace” program was begun in May without an appropriate “data-protection impact assessment” (DPIA) in place, with experts telling Digital Privacy News that the omission represented a serious breach of privacy law.

The revelation came in a July 15 letter from the government’s legal department, shared with Digital Privacy News via a news release from U.K. campaigning organization the Open Rights Group.

A DPIA is required under U.K. law before commencing any project carrying a high risk to individual privacy. The government claimed to have conducted several DPIAs covering aspects of the program but admitted it should have completed an overarching assessment before it launched on May 28.

By Robert Bateman

The U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) has set up a “Test and Trace” program to help track the spread of COVID-19. 

The program, rolled out May 28, involves “contact-tracing” — gathering information about COVID-19 patients and those with whom they have been in contact, with an aim to slow the spread of the virus.

By Robert Bateman

The U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) is creating a “COVID-19 datastore” with the help of such tech firms as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Silicon Valley artificial intelligence company, Palantir.

In a March blog post detailing the project, Matt Gould, chief executive of government unit NHSX, said the goal was to provide “secure, reliable and timely data — in a way that protects the privacy of our citizens — in order to make informed, effective decisions.”

By Robert Bateman

The U.K. is developing a contract-tracing app designed to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

But privacy experts have identified vulnerabilities that could leave users’ privacy at risk.