DM-10 Response Not Accepted Self-assessed

Custodial sentences for data protection offences

Recommendation

Given the potential seriousness of such offences, it is recommended that the Government take an early opportunity to amend the Data Protection Act 2018 to provide for sentences of imprisonment for offenders.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the Official government response (June 2023), the government did not accept this recommendation. According to the Official government response (June 2023), the government stated that the Data Protection Act 2018 already strengthened criminal sanctions for unlawfully obtaining or retaining data, including unlimited fines and making offences recordable, and concluded that introducing custodial sentences would not be a proportionate response.
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
England
Section Reference
Volume 1
Response
Not Accepted
Not Accepted Home Office
22 Jun 2023

The Data Protection Act 2018 has already, however, strengthened criminal sanctions. The offence of unlawfully obtaining data was widened to include the unlawful retention of data. The maximum penalty for a person convicted of that offence is an unlimited fine. The 2018 Act also made changes to make the offences recordable for the first time. Consequently, having carefully considered the evidence, the Government does not feel that the introduction of custodial sentences would be a proportionate response to data protection offences at this time.

Read Full Response
Source
Inquiry Daniel Morgan Panel
Report The Report of the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel 15 Jun 2021
View Source
Responsible Bodies
Home Office Primary
Themes & Tags
Personal data privacy risks Police tech abuse response Data Protection Legislation Sentencing
Recommendation age 4.8 yrs
Last formal update 1006 days ago