iNews has reported that “The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) could face an inquiry by the information watchdog after it emerged that it released personal details of 23 million motorists last year.”

The Information and Commissioner’s Office has confirmed that it is enquiring about the sharing of driver data to third parties after motoring groups questioned the scale of information sharing and the legitimacy of some of the requests.

According The Times “an unprecedented 63,600 records a day were handed to third parties including bailiffs and private investigators, often allowing motorists to be aggressively pursued for parking and toll road fines.”

iNews further reported that “anyone can request information about a vehicle or its keeper if they have “reasonable cause” such as trying to find out who was responsible for an accident, issuing parking tickets or tracing the keeper of an abandoned vehicle.”

Although the ICO have not yet started a formal investigation, it is “aware of the issues around the sharing of registered keepers details between the DVLA and private parking companies, and [was] currently considering if and how new data protection laws affect this data sharing.”

Edmund King, president of the AA, said: “It is absolutely astonishing. At a time when there are so many sensitivities around data, it just seems baffling that any old Tom, Dick or Harry can get hold of this data.”

For the full article, please visit iNews here.