GDPR

Convicted Driver Insurance

DonkeyKong

Established Member
Just musing here, but, is there any actual facts around a local Rag (Newspaper) publishing the names and addresses of offenders? I don’t mean to start an argument about whether people deserve to be named and shamed, or whether it is or is not in the public interest. But given that every company now need permission to share personally identifiable data under GDPR, and can be heavily fined for doing so without express permission... are newspapers exempt from this. My starting point if it is of any interest to anybody, is that someone publishing my name and address online, is breaking data protection rules.
 
You raise an interesting point, but GDPR does simply not forbid the holding or processing of data if consent has been obtained. There are exemptions for reasons such as public interests or if the information is already in the public domain.
Given that an offender has appeared in a public court, stated their personal details and admitted, or been found guilty of, breaking the law then I think that certainly the “already in the public domain” exemption has been met, if not the “public interest” one.
We will have to see how this unfolds, but those are my thoughts.
 
Thanks for the reply. I work in IT and the GDPR rules and how we comply with them are a nightmare. So I honestly don’t know. The fact that I was convicted for drink driving is in no doubt, and it is in the public interest to know that criminals like me are at large. But I don’t see any expressed or implied permission has been granted to a newspaper to publish my home address. Even companies I have dealings with are not allowed to take information that I have agreed they can use my data are unable to share it. So, what I am researching in light of GDPR, is whether an exemption exists that lets a random newspaper, whom I expressly deny can use my data, can just go ahead and use it anyway.

update: it’s also worth considering that there is already a “right to be forgotten” on the internet. It is very likely that the local toilet paper will remain online for many more years than a conviction is spent. And it will be archived by many services such as WayBackMachine. There is no public interest in, say, 15 years time, that DonkyKong was a convicted drunk driver.
 
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Is it a simple as you lose your right to anonymity once convicted of a crime?
 
Is it a simple as you lose your right to anonymity once convicted of a crime?

I don’t know mate. That’s what I’m interested in finding out. I’ve had to read the entire GDPR rules, and I can’t find the bit that says “if you commit a crime then absolutely anybody can do anything they want with your personal details”
 
It is an interesting topic. GDPR Article 10 concerns criminal convictions, but it's quite limited.

I think the answer could be found in the Data Protection Act 2018, Chapter 2, section 10 which concerns the processing of data on criminal convictions, since GDPR. That section directs you to Schedule 2 (paragraph 13) of the act, which concerns journalism in connection with convictions.
It gives journalists a pretty broad scope looking at it tbh in a criminal context, essentially allowing any personal data disclosure involved with the commission of any 'unlawful act'. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/12/schedule/1/paragraph/13/enacted

However, I mean once the conviction had been spent. I don't really imagine any internet archiving website, or local rag, could argue a piece on a local drink driving rap was necessary for historical-archiving purposes. They could I guess only argue keeping it is in the public interest but, if it's spent, the public interest would probably be overruled by the 'right to be forgotten' (as you say), surely like how Google have taken down search results relating to spent convictions when requested.
 
Mate, I don’t like the look of your user name.
If I can be any help to you, drop me a PM. I was at an alcohol peer-support group only a few hours ago, and whereas this didn’t really help, I’ve done some stuff tonight that has cheered me up no end. I have 200 hours of community service, but just did a spreadsheet of when it will be gone - 4 months, and I have a full time 8-6 job that requires me to drive. There is a long way to go, but maybe, just maybe... I can get through this without losing my job, house, family. Yeah, I have depression and anxiety as well.
 
Hehe ;) it is a little severe, looking at it now. Picked it over a year ago just after my own drink driving rap, where I wasn't in the best place, yeah. Felt like my whole world was crushed. Had some counselling. Haven't drank for 13 months, not just because of the ban but also other negative experiences, not that i'm saying every other drink driver should. Totally personal decision. Feeling a lot better about things now overall. Does get better.

Few months shy of the end of the ban. My employment contract expired recently, and I'm now looking for work, and it is a bit of a struggle without a vehicle particularly in a rural area so having that back will help hopefully, but it's doable.

I hope your employer and family can help you through this period, particularly the employer if you're a skilled employee like working in IT suggests. This should hopefully just be a blip in the long-term. I also just keep counting, thinking 5/11 years then it's totally done, and just keep counting the milestones. Best of luck.

Thanks for your concern :)
 
Cheers man. Good luck to you too. To anyone not already in our position who is reading this.. don’t drink anything at all and drive. You might not want advice from a convicted drink driver, but, if you are caught doing so, it will devastate your life. It has mine.
 
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