BAD BOY OF THE WEEK:

: Christopher Graham, the Information Commissioner

This week, Big Brother Watch's work has been dominated by the story of the failure of Information Commissioner Christopher Graham to take action against Google for its harvesting of personal data from the domestic WiFi networks by thousands of British people.

In a statement issued earlier this week, Graham admitted that the company had violated the Data Protection Act but said he was unwilling to take "knee jerk" action against them.  He would, he claimed, "wait for the result of overseas inquiries before deciding whether to consider using enforcement powers".

Prior to this statement, Members of Parliament had already been severely critical of the Commissioner's approach, calling upon Graham to act on the issue during the course of a House of Commons debate.

It follows this morning that Spain's data protection watchdog, the AEDP, has launched infringement proceedings against Google. If found guilty, theycould face a fine of between €60,000 and €600,000.
The Spanish announcement follows on the back of statements from Australia, Canada, Germany and South Korea confirming that they are investigating the company's conduct.  In the United States, an investigation led by Connecticut Attorney General Dick Blumenthal has drawn the support of his colleagues from thirty-eight other states - including incoming California Governor Jerry Brown. The Canadian regulator has given the company until 1st February 2011 to delete any information it has captured from the country's citizens and to "ensure that it has a governance model in place to comply with privacy laws and improve staff training".

Despite the frenzied action by other regulators, Graham has remained silent, leading Big Brother Watch and others to describe the Commissioner as "not fit for purpose".
So, Christopher Graham, for your spectacular failure to do the job you're paid more than £140,000 a year to do, you're our 'BAD BOY OF THE WEEK'.