ICO Balance of Public Interest
Leveson Inquiry · An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press · Issued 29 November 2012 · Addressed to: UK Government
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
In conjunction with the repeal of those procedural provisions, consideration should be given to the desirability of including in the Data Protection Act 1998 a provision to the effect that, in considering the exercise of any powers in relation to the media or other publishers, the Information Commissioner's Office should have special regard to the obligation in law to balance the public interest in freedom of expression alongside the public interest in upholding the data protection regime.
Leveson Inquiry, An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press · 29 Nov 2012 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- Section 124 of the Data Protection Act 2018 requires the Information Commissioner to prepare a code of practice on data protection and journalism, in which the Commissioner must have regard to "the special importance of the public interest in the freedom of expression and information" (Data Protection Act 2018, Section 124, legislation.gov.uk).
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
The Prime Minister stated on 29 November 2012 that data protection proposals required careful consideration. The Data Protection Act 2018 included some provisions implementing Leveson recommendations on data protection and journalism. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-cameron-statement-in-response-to-the-leveson-inquiry-report
UK Government · 29 Nov 2012 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 23 May 2018 · UK Parliament The Data Protection Act 2018 includes some provisions requiring the ICO to have regard to freedom of expression when exercising powers in relation to journalism. However this is not framed exactly as Leveson recommended. View source → Reasonable Progress
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.