Information and Data Protection Commissioner, Saviour Cachia, warned of 'drastic action' to be taken in the case of a number of 'mistakes' and abuses of the Data Protection Act which happen on a regular basis, including making and keeping physical copies of ID cards for services provided and unauthorised disclosure of details from personal files.

This was said during a conference on data protection organised jointly by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and the Ministry for Social Dialogue which was addressed by Minister Cachia, along with Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties, Helena Dalli and Permanent Secretary, Joseph Camilleri.

Mr Cachia also mentioned complaints he heard of companies using paper with personal details as 'scribbling paper', as well as other 'silly mistakes' like sending emails to the wrong addresses.

Another case was of a data controller blaming a data processor for misuse of information, however, in this case, Mr Cachia pointed out that it is the Data Controller's responsibility to ensure security of this information and, as such, the Controller will be fined.

Minister Dalli spoke of the government's commitment to improving data protection rights and also mentioned the new EU Data Protection Reform package, which was approved by all member states, thus making it a mandatory measure to have a Data Protection Officer working in all public organizations.