European Commissioner Viviane Reding said she will push member states to adopt a proper data breach notification law - something the Information Commissioner in the UK has failed to get.

Such a law would force businesses to tell people if their private data has been lost or stolen. Data controllers in the UK have no obligation to tell people, but they are supposed to inform the Information Commissioner's Office.

EU telecoms law will impose a breach notification onto telecoms and internet service providers and it seems Reding thinks this should be extended - something the UK has resisted.

The Information Commissioner's Office said legislation was a matter for government and warned: "Should legislation be proposed to compel UK organisations to notify people when a data breach occurs, it must be properly considered before it is introduced in the UK."

The role of the ICO and of data protection legislation was reviewed after Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs lost details on almost every UK family.

The issue of breach notification was much debated in the wake of this loss. Some observers felt the DPA should be strengthened to include such a requirement while others felt it would damage the relationship between the ICO and the institutions it regulates. ®

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