Editing Privacy (section)

====United Kingdom====
{{main |Privacy in English law}}

In the United Kingdom, it is not possible to bring an action for invasion of privacy. An action may be brought under another [[tort]] (usually breach of confidence) and privacy must then be considered under EC law. In the UK, it is sometimes a defence that disclosure of private information was in the public interest.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4482073.stm Does Beckham judgment change rules?], from [[BBC News]] (retrieved 27 April 2005).</ref> There is, however, the [[Information Commissioner's Office]] (ICO), an independent public body set up to promote access to official information and protect personal information. They do this by promoting good practice, ruling on eligible complaints, giving information to individuals and organisations, and taking action when the law is broken. The relevant UK laws include: [[Data Protection Act 1998]]; [[Freedom of Information Act 2000]]; [[Environmental Information Regulations 2004]]; [[Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003|Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003]]. The ICO has also provided a "Personal Information Toolkit" online which explains in more detail the various ways of protecting privacy online.<ref>[http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/toolkit.pdf "Personal Information Toolkit"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103165639/http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/toolkit.pdf |date=2009-01-03 }}  Information Commissioner's Office, UK</ref>