Watchdog readies crackdown on data cheats

The Information Commissioner's Office is refocusing its time and effort on companies that seriously and persistently flout rules on protecting personal information and thus cause real harm.

The data watchdog, which guards the 1998 Data Protection Act, will spend less time on minor or technical breaches, giving it the time to concentrate on "abuses of significant public concern", it said.

The watchdog will spring into action where the company involved has either already been warned or must know that it is breaking the law.

"Deliberate, wilful or cavalier conduct", or the need to set an example or clarify the law, will also spur it into acting.

Deputy information commissioner, David Smith, said in a statement: "Regulatory action will focus on those whose failure to comply with data protection results in serious consequences, either serious - perhaps career-threatening - harm to one individual, or less serious harm to many people."

Smith said negotiation will be the agency's first option but added: "Businesses should be warned that we will not hesitate to take legal action where necessary. Such action will always be proportionate to the mischief it seeks to address."