UK Company Sold Workers' Secret Data 122
krou writes "The BBC is reporting that the Information Commissioner's Office has shut down a company in the UK for a serious breach of the Data Protection Act. It claims that the company, The Consulting Association in Droitwich, Worcs, ran a secret system that it repeatedly denied existed for 15 years, selling workers' confidential data, including union activities, to building firms, allowing potential employers to unlawfully vet job applicants. About 3,213 workers were in the database, and other information included data on personal relationships, political affiliations, and employment histories. More than 40 firms are believed to have used the service, paying a £3,000 annual fee, and each of them will be investigated, too." The article says that The Consulting Association faces a £5,000 fine — after pulling in £1.8 million over 15 years with its illegal blacklist.
5k fine, 1.8M in profits (Score:5, Insightful)
It's kind of hard to say "continue, please" louder than by slapping such an enormous fine.
much bigger damage to society (Score:5, Insightful)
This is an old, old blacklist (Score:5, Insightful)
British Paranoia at its finest! (Score:5, Insightful)
Let me get this right:
British Employers are paranoid that potential employees are Communists or worse. They subscribe to a secret blacklist that potentials have no knowledge of or ability to refute allegations. Anyone blacklisted will not be employed, but the work still needs to be done.
So they draft in cheap labor from countries that didn't even exist twenty years ago. As these migrant workers aren't on the blacklist, they get cherry picked for work that local labor should have the same rights to apply for. The end result being the rise of local unemployment through no fault of the workers.
No wonder their economy is fucked.
Re:5k fine, 1.8M in profits (Score:5, Insightful)
It's kind of hard to say "continue, please" louder than by slapping such an enormous fine.
What are the odds of the employers who illegally used said database being fined or punished in some way? Punish the people who used the database and you'll find that the next time someone offers up illegal information for sale they'll have a much harder time finding customers.
Re:I'm confused (Score:3, Insightful)
Does your government sell information about your political activities etc to a cabal of semi-criminals? No? Well, there you have your answer, then.
Just because you have an ingrown bias that tells that "Everthing the government does is evil, and everything a private business does is sort of OK, even if it is criminal" doesn't mean that it makes sense. You would probably benefit from taking off your blinkers once in a while.
Re:much bigger damage to society (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Put on your Republican/Tory shoes for a second (Score:1, Insightful)
You mean other than the fact that blacklists like that database are illegal?
If you rely on the law for your morals then you have no morals at all.
Re:much bigger damage to society (Score:4, Insightful)
Even if they agreed to a background check, they probably didn't agree to be checked for activities that aren't in any way illegal or reflecting on job performance, such as (FTFA) "ex-shop steward" or "Irish ex-Army".
Re:I'm confused (Score:5, Insightful)
Governments can be held accountable for their actions.
Really? What country do you live in? I'd like to move there.
Re:This is an old, old blacklist (Score:3, Insightful)
Facts? We don't need facts. This is the Internet!
solution: (Score:4, Insightful)
Charge them with 3213 instances and fine them per instance. The profit disappears and so does the motivation.
Re:sounds like the work of a genius (Score:3, Insightful)
A more correct google gives:
UK: 59
US: 1186
Re:British Paranoia at its finest! (Score:1, Insightful)
Translation: I'd prefer to employ illegal immigrants because if they complain about dangerous working conditions or being paid less than minimum wage, I can just have them deported rather than doing something about the problem.
Re:sounds like the work of a genius (Score:4, Insightful)
Illiterate undocumented immigrant getting paid 80 pence an hour to carry a hod? Probably not.
Skilled tradesman who happens to have political opinions pinker than his boss would like? Quite possibly(especially the web stuff).
Access to legal options, unfortunately, is very much a game for the wealthy; but the interwebs are pretty far downmarket these days.
Re:5k fine, 1.8M in profits (Score:5, Insightful)
Let us know when it actually happens.