May 2, 2018
In episode two of The Privacy Advisor Podcast's miniseries on robocalls, Andy Curry, the Information Commissioner's Office's enforcement group manager, discusses how the U.K has worked to thwart illegal robocalls. The UK ICO regulates under the Data Protection Act and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. It has the Telephone Preference Service, akin to the do-not-call list in the U.S., which it can fine callers for violating. The office got the power to fine in 2011 because it recognized an increasingly rapid problem. In fact, the ICO just yesterday announced a fine with two companies, IAG Nationwide Limited — which will pay 100,000 pounds, and a company called Costelloe and Kelly Limited — which will pay 19,000 pounds for nuisance calls. While in the U.S., the FTC and FCC struggle to shrink the number of complaints streaming into their agencies, the U.K. has found numbers declining. Editor Angelique Carson reports.