The High Court last week granted a final order to stop misleading adverts for data protection notification services. The order followed action by the Office of Fair Trading over the ads, which gave the impression that they came from official bodies. The final injunction was granted against Christopher Yewdall who sent adverts relating to notification with the Information Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 1998. The ads had been sent under various names: Data Protection Agency, Data Protection Agency Registrations, Data Protection Agency Services, National Registrations, Data Protection
Registration and Data Protection Registration Services.
The court found that the ads misled businesses receiving them to believe that they were under some sort of legal obligation to register immediately with the senders at a cost of £95.
While most businesses involved in processing personal data are required by law to notify the Information Commissioner, many small businesses that process such data for limited purposes are exempt from notification. Businesses that do need to notify can notify the Information Commissioner directly, for a fee of only £35.
The OFT has, under the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations of 1988, the power to step in if the public interest requires that advertisements should be stopped by means of a court order - but acts only when a complaint has been received. In this case, the OFT received thousands of complaints.
Welcoming the order, John Vickers, OFT Chairman, said:
"The OFT has received thousands of complaints about this sort of misleading advertising and we will continue to take strong action against individuals who mislead businesses in this manner. Businesses should contact the Information Commissioner if in any doubt about their obligations to notify under data protection legislation."
Details of which businesses are required to notify under the Data Protection Act 1998 are available on the Information Commissioner's web site.