The Ministry of Justice has given its nod to levy fines up to £500K for data protection offences. Unless there are parliamentarian objections (which I doubt will be the case), these fines are all set to become a law with effect from 6th April, 2010.

Christopher Graham, The Information Commissioner has made the message loud and clear – his office will be committed to working with voluntary, public and private bodies to help them comply with data protection rules and for bodies that do not comply, he’d not be shy to impose these fines.

The amount of fine levied will depend on the organization, its resources as well as the size and severity of the data breach. The fines would be reduced by 20% if fully paid within 28 days.

In my opinion, this is a welcome move and I’m glad this has come sooner rather than later.