A blog by Stephen Eckersley, Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Director of Investigations.

John Edwards, UK Information Commissioner, recently set out our strategic approach to regulatory action where he said: “Members of the public, and those affected by a breach or infringement, are entitled to know that we have held the business or organisation to account, and that they have changed their practices as a result.”

Until today, we would normally publish enforcement notices, fines and summaries of our audit reports on our website. But now we will also publish all reprimands going forward, including reprimands issued from January 2022 onwards, unless there is a good reason not to, such as matters of national security or that it is likely to jeopardise any ongoing investigation. As with any enforcement action, we expect organisations to improve their practices as set out in the reprimands and we follow up to make sure our recommendations are implemented.