Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will discuss with the Information Commissioner’s Office reasons to refer consumer complaints to equivalent bodies overseas in addressing nuisance telephone calls from abroad.

Mr Edward Vaizey

This Government recently made an amendment to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR), requiring direct marketing companies registered in the UK and those making calls on behalf of UK companies from outside the UK, to display Calling Line Identification. This measure will make it easier for the ICO to investigate and take enforcement action against callers who persistently and deliberately flout the rules.

In addtion, both the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and Ofcom engage with the Do Not Call Forum of the London Action Plan, which includes overseas regulators with responsibility for tackling nuisance calls. The ICO is joint secretariat and works with other members, including the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, to target organisations, share investigation methods and drive forward coordinated actions. The group are drafting an operational plan to strengthen cooperation at international level