New Data Protection Laws Could Affect Printers

Users who handle sensitive information through their printers could face fines of up to £500,000 due to new powers being given to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), according to an industry specialist.

Legislation allowing for tighter protections has been put into an amendment of the Data Protection Act 1988, due to come into effect in April.

James Lewis, managing director of secure file-transferring specialists Pro2col, said to printing website Printweek.com that "any print company that processes … personal, individually identifiable data needs to ensure this data is sufficiently protected".

He added: "Print companies most likely to fall under this umbrella include security and variable data

Printer users who handle sensitive or private data should be wary as failure to comply with the strict new rules could land them with a large fine.

The new rules come after the European Commission called for stricter legislation on data privacy.

By Ramsey Dehani

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