UK plans clampdown on nuisance calls in data overhaul

LONDON: Britain said it would overhaul its data protection regulator to help strengthen economic growth and better protect the public, giving authorities scope to impose tougher penalties and fines for nuisance calls and text messages.

The changes to the remit of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) follow the selection of New Zealand Privacy Commissioner John Edwards as the preferred candidate to be Britain’s new information commissioner, the government said.

Britain said last month it would reform data protection following its departure from the European Union, taking what it termed a “common sense” approach that could help it strike technological partnerships with the United States and other countries.