Charity shreds 'irreplaceable' adoption files to save space
Summary
An Edinburgh charity, Birthlink, was fined £18,000 for shredding approximately 4,800 adoption-related personal records to save space. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) described the destruction as a major loss, and Birthlink has apologized, promising to prevent similar incidents in the future.Key Facts
- Birthlink destroyed around 4,800 personal adoption records.
- These included photographs and handwritten letters considered irreplaceable.
- The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) fined Birthlink £18,000 for this action.
- Birthlink said only a small portion of the destroyed files contained unique personal items.
- The charity did not keep a detailed record of what was destroyed.
- The destruction happened because Birthlink needed to free up filing space.
- An ICO investigation found that the destruction could have been avoided with better procedures.
- Birthlink has taken steps to improve data protection, including appointing a data protection officer.
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