Back the Act: silicon.com viewers call for tougher data protection fines

The Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) should have the power to impose severe fines on companies which breach the Data Protection Act - without having to wrangle with legal red tape.

That's the view of silicon.com readers who wrote in supporting our Back the Act campaign. They are frustrated that the DPC has its hands firmly tied by bureaucratic procedures and limited power.

"A law without enforcement is like a dog that can bark but has no teeth," is how one reader described the current situation.

Many readers agreed that a severe fine - and the resulting bad publicity - would act as a deterrent to companies in breach of the act.

"Breaches of security are creating a backlash against the net in general and not the particular companies who have not tested their software sufficiently," complained one irate dot-com manager, who went on to suggest that fines should be high enough to cover the annual operating costs of the DPC.

His sentiments were echoed by many others who agreed that security lapses likes Barclays and Powergen are eroding consumer confidence in online trading.

Jesper Hornberg, managing director of Mediacircusonline.com, said: "I couldn't agree more that consumer confidence has to be built, and what confidence existed before has to be restored. I would actually go as far as saying that my confidence in some businesses trading online has to be restored and I have been online for seven years," he said.

Others suggested the DPC should implement a quality mark scheme similar to the ISO9001 scheme used by the manufacturing industry.