The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s data protection regulator and it announced on 09 October that from 11 of October, it will be piloting changes to the way it provides support to businesses.

One of the first changes includes removing the ability for organisations to make inbound calls the ICO phone line for advice and clarity. The ICO states that “Instead of first calling [their] phone line, businesses can access a wide and growing range of online resources to get the certainty they need on any data protection concerns. [The ICO’s] expert advisers will still be on hand to provide businesses with additional support via the live chat facility and outbound calls.”

This comes after the ICO’s Data Protection Practitioners’ Conference held on 08 October and before the new UK Labour Government’s introduction of the Digital Information and Smart Data (DISD) Bill – which includes an aim to strengthen the ICO’s powers and target reform to some data laws. The DISD Bill aims to transform the ICO into a more modern regulatory structure, with a CEO, board and chair with new, stronger powers. This will be accompanied by targeted reforms to some data laws that will maintain high standards of protection but where there is currently a lack of clarity impeding the safe development and deployment of some new technologies. It will also promote standards for digital identities around privacy, security and inclusion.

The removal of the ability to call the ICO phone line for advice may impact an organisations ability to understand the ICO’s expectations when complying with data protection laws especially where the ICO’s online guidance is not always clear.

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Link to the ICO’s statement: https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2024/10/changes-to-our-services-for-businesses/