L52 Response Accepted in Part AI-assessed

ICO Balance of Public Interest

Recommendation

In conjunction with the repeal of those procedural provisions, consideration should be given to the desirability of including in the Data Protection Act 1998 a provision to the effect that, in considering the exercise of any powers in relation to the media or other publishers, the Information Commissioner's Office should have special regard to the obligation in law to balance the public interest in freedom of expression alongside the public interest in upholding the data protection regime.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to UK Parliament (May 2018), the Data Protection Act 2018 includes provisions that require the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to have regard to freedom of expression when exercising its powers in relation to journalism, and while this addresses the principle of balancing public interest, the provisions are not framed exactly as the Leveson Inquiry recommended. According to https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-cameron-statement-in-response-to-the-leveson-inquiry-report, the Prime Minister had stated in November 2012 that data protection proposals required careful consideration.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Accepted in Part
Accepted in Part UK Government
29 Nov 2012

The Prime Minister stated on 29 November 2012 that data protection proposals required careful consideration. The Data Protection Act 2018 included some provisions implementing Leveson recommendations on data protection and journalism. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-cameron-statement-in-response-to-the-leveson-inquiry-report

Read Full Response
Note: PM David Cameron responded to all 92 recommendations with a single statement accepting them "in principle" or "in part". No per-recommendation response was published.
Published Evidence

Published assessments of implementation progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Check the source type badge to see whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

Reasonable Progress
23 May 2018
UK Parliament legislation

The Data Protection Act 2018 includes some provisions requiring the ICO to have regard to freedom of expression when exercising powers in relation to journalism. However this is not framed exactly as Leveson recommended.

View detailed findings

Some balancing provisions exist in the DPA 2018 but not exactly as Leveson specified.

Data Protection Act 2018 View Source
Source
Inquiry Leveson Inquiry
Report An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press 29 Nov 2012
View Source
Responsible Bodies
UK Government Primary
Themes & Tags
Personal data privacy risks Discriminatory media reporting oversight ICO Data Protection Freedom of Expression Balance
Recommendation age 13.3 yrs
Last formal update 4863 days ago