Tribunal Ruling on Experian Dispute with ICO Evaluated

The UK Tribunal has ruled on Experian's appeal against the ICO's action regarding the processing of personal data of 5 million individuals. The Tribunal found that Experian had not processed the data transparently, fairly or lawfully due to its failure to notify people that it was using their data for direct marketing purposes. However, the Tribunal rejected the ICO's views that Experian's privacy notice was not transparent, that using credit reference data for direct marketing was unfair or that Experian did not properly assess its lawful basis. The ICO will review the ruling and consider whether to appeal. Stephen Bonner, Deputy Commissioner of the ICO, stressed the importance of companies being open and honest about how they use data for direct marketing services. The six-day hearing took place from 17th January to 11th February 2022.