Complaints regarding data protection have seen a substantial increase in the United Kingdom following the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the body responsible for enforcing the European Union’s GDPR, received 6,281 complaints from 25th May, when the new regulations were implemented, to 3rd July. This represents a dramatic rise compared to the 2,417 complaints received in the same period the previous year.
EMW, a commercial law firm, reported these figures, which were subsequently confirmed by the ICO. Issues within the financial services sector accounted for ten per cent of the total complaints.
Companies found in violation of GDPR regulations could face significant penalties, including fines up to €20 million or four per cent of their annual global turnover.
An ICO spokesperson acknowledged the rise in complaints: “It’s early days and we will collate, analyse and publish official statistics in due course. But generally, as anticipated, we have seen a rise in personal data breach reports from organisations. Complaints relating to data protection issues are also up and, as more people become aware of their individual rights, we are expecting the number of complaints to the ICO to increase too.”
The ICO is enhancing its capabilities to manage this influx, with its staff numbers increasing from 530 to 720, nearly doubling the figures from 2015. Funding for the organisation is also set to rise from £24 million to £38 million in the 2018-2019 period.
The introduction of GDPR has led to a significant increase in data protection complaints in the UK, with the ICO anticipating further growth as public awareness of individual rights continues to expand.