L54 Response Not Accepted Self-assessed

Bring into Force Section 55 Penalties

Recommendation

The necessary steps should be taken to bring into force the amendments made to section 55 of the Data Protection Act 1998 by section 77 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (increase of sentence maxima) to the extent of the maximum specified period; and by section 78 of the 2008 Act (enhanced defence for public interest journalism).

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the Prime Minister's November 2012 statement (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-cameron-statement-in-response-to-the-leveson-inquiry-report), the UK Government did not accept this recommendation, with the Prime Minister expressing concern that such proposals could curb press freedom. According to UK Parliament records from February 2025, the increased sentencing powers for section 55 breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998, as outlined in sections 77-78 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, were never brought into force; while the Data Protection Act 2018 created new offences, the specific provisions Leveson referenced were not commenced.
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
Not Accepted
Not Accepted UK Government
29 Nov 2012

The Prime Minister stated on 29 November 2012: "I am instinctively concerned about this proposal. There is a real danger of this recommendation being used to curb freedom of the press. We need to consider this very carefully - particularly the impact this could have on investigative journalism." The Data Protection Act 2018 retained a broad journalism exemption (Schedule 2, Part 5) and did not implement this specific recommendation. 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.

Not Implemented
27 Feb 2025
UK Parliament legislation

The increased sentencing powers for section 55 breaches (unlawfully obtaining personal data) under sections 77-78 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 were never brought into force. The DPA 2018 created new offences but the specific provisions Leveson referenced were not commenced.

View detailed findings

The specific statutory provisions Leveson recommended be brought into force were not commenced.

Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, sectio… 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 Section 55 Criminal Penalties
Recommendation age 13.3 yrs
Last formal update 4863 days ago