The ever-changing regulatory climate

As 2010 draws to a close, it is worth reflecting on the significant legislation that has affected the IT industry over the past year.

One of the most high-profile issues has been new fines under the Data Protection Act. In January, attention was focused on the news that from April the Information Commissioner’s Office would have the power to fine organisations that lost people’s personal data up to £500,000.

Another key piece of legislation, which was rushed into law in April by the outgoing Labour government, was the Digital Economy Act 2010. So rushed was the law that BT and TalkTalk are challenging the legal validity of the act by going to a judicial review. It has stirred up debate as to whether or not the provider of wireless connections is responsible for the content transmitted over them.

Regulation that affects the enterprise did not stop there. Net neutrality is a contentious issue that has been bubbling on both sides of the pond. The debate centres on whether or not network operators should have to ensure that every data packet is treated equally as it is passed across the internet. How Washington and Brussels finally resolve this issue will have huge implications for ISPs and their users.

In our Essential Guide to regulation, we explore the issues of net neutrality and the Digital Economy Act in more detail.