A civil liberties campaigner has raised concern over the new data protection bill.

Tristram Llewellyn Jones has highlighted issues with the current draft of the Data Protection Bill currently in the Keys.

Mr Llewellyn Jones said: ’The law in the island should include sanctions and penalties against civil servants that misuse personal data.’

He says he is concerned this law ’let’s government off the hook’.

Mr Llewellyn Jones added: ’Quite simply the new data protection bill regulations, as written, stop the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) from prosecuting government if it breaks data protection law.’

He argues that regulation 153 says that ’neither a department nor a statutory board is liable to prosecution’, theoretically meaning civil servants could no longer be prosecuted while a private company would still be liable to prosecution.

Mr Llewellyn Jones said he believes that this government is ’proving adept at manipulating the public and Tynwald’.

He added: ’It has not only written the new Data Protection Bill to suit itself but trying to introduce it in a way which makes it very difficult for Tynwald members and the public to do anything about it.’

Mr Llewellyn Jones has called on people to respond to the public consultation before the closing date on March 5.

Minister for Policy and Reform Chris Thomas MHK responded: ’One crucial point is that the Data Protection Bill which is at clauses stage is merely an enabling piece of legislation.

’In respect of enforcement, and under the proposed legislation, the ICO will have a full range of enforcement actions that they could take against government bodies, including fining departments up to £1 million, stopping departments from processing data or ordering them to change their processes.

’In the UK Government departments are Crown functions and therefore cannot be prosecuted by the Crown, our law is different, but this was not amended accordingly when the regulations were drafted.

’These are still draft regulations and are subject to consultation and we will consider all comments that we receive.’

He also added that any department or public servant deliberately breaking data protection laws may also be liable to disciplinary action and individual prosecution. The consultation can be found at https://consult.gov.im/cabinet-office/new-data-protection-bill.