You will recall that my last blog featured the views of someone who had agreed with my view that employers have, basically, lost the plot if they think that the provision of data protection advice is a task that can only be undertaken by a qualified lawyer.
I’m so grateful to the lawyers who offered an alternative view.
This email was typical:
I think we need to move to a world where we recognise that privacy ought not to rest in the domain of any one profession. Compliance folk have their role, as do IT/IS personnel, HR, product design and, yes, even lawyers. The truth is that, even though it's such a seemingly simple concept - don't do stuff with people's information that they don't like - privacy has many different facets. Lawyers are most certainly NOT the best people to tell product engineers how to design a cool new product. But, equally, product engineers are not the best people to talk to liabilities and legal compliance. Nor are HR people the best people to advise on implementing information security for a new HR system. We're part of an interconnected privacy ecosystem and all need to work together.
Believe it or not, even though I'm a lawyer I don't "lick my lips" at the thought of increasingly burdensome data protection regulation. Lawyers are an important and necessary part of the solution, but we're not the whole solution and nor is any other profession. As for your respondent's comment that most lawyers are unable "to write in plain English and to make decisions", what can I say? They're using the wrong firm - feel free to send them over to me :-)
So, the offer’s there. If readers want to be put in touch with a lawyer who knows his place, please feel free to get in touch with me, and I’ll arrange the necessary introductions.
Image credit:
http://www.spencertunick.com/installations-/large-scale
Spencer Tunik,Netherlands 8 (Dream Amsterdam Foundation) 2007
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