V3.co.uk reports that Phil Jones, a former assistant information commissioner who headed up the ICO's data protection practice, has defended the £500,000 limit of the ICO's fining powers as enough to warn organisations on data security. "People have complained that the fine only goes to £500,000, but it's not the money that's the issue," he said. "It's about the reputational damage that is caused through being made an example of if the ICO issues a financial penalty." Stewart Room of Field Fisher Waterhouse disagreed, saying, "Perceptions are very important, and some people consider that the cap speaks very negatively about the value that parliament attaches to privacy and data protection."
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