Press Statement: Paul Murphy MEP (Socialist Party / United Left
Alliance) 4 January 2011 Household Tax site in breach of privacy law Paul Murphy MEP lodges complaint with Data Commissioner Socialist Party / United Left Alliance MEP for Dublin and
anti-household tax campaigner, Paul Murphy, has lodged a complaint
with the Data Commissioner about the Household Tax site,
www.householdcharge.ie. “The government is starting to roll out a massive propaganda campaign
to get people to register for and pay the unjust household tax.
However, the site they are encouraging people to register on is in
breach of the 2011 regulations on “Privacy and Electronic
Communicationsâ€? which implements EU directives on privacy. “The website’s privacy statement declares that the site uses ‘session
cookies’ which are erased after use, whereas in fact it uses so-called
‘persistent cookies’ that remain on people’s computers after they
visit the website. This is a breach of the 2011 regulations and I have
made a complaint to the Data Commissioner about it. “People should not register or pay on this site. Instead, they should
join the Campaign against Household and Water Taxes and work to
establish such mass non-registration and non-payment that this tax
will be uncollectable.� ENDS [PMPress] Note for editor: The www.householdcharge.ie site is in breach of the 2011 regulations
(EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS AND
SERVICES) (PRIVACY AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) REGULATIONS 2011),
available here http://www.dataprotection.ie/documents/legal/SI336of2011.pdf
. In particular, it is in breach of section 5, part 3, which reads: “(3) A person shall not use an electronic communications network to store information, or to gain access to information already stored in the terminal equipment of a subscriber or user, unless (a) the subscriber or user has given his or her consent to that use, and (b) the subscriber or user has been provided with clear and
comprehensive information in accordance with the Data Protection Acts
which— (i) is both prominently displayed and easily accessible, and (ii) includes, without limitation, the purposes of the processing of the information.�
Alliance) 4 January 2011 Household Tax site in breach of privacy law Paul Murphy MEP lodges complaint with Data Commissioner Socialist Party / United Left Alliance MEP for Dublin and
anti-household tax campaigner, Paul Murphy, has lodged a complaint
with the Data Commissioner about the Household Tax site,
www.householdcharge.ie. “The government is starting to roll out a massive propaganda campaign
to get people to register for and pay the unjust household tax.
However, the site they are encouraging people to register on is in
breach of the 2011 regulations on “Privacy and Electronic
Communicationsâ€? which implements EU directives on privacy. “The website’s privacy statement declares that the site uses ‘session
cookies’ which are erased after use, whereas in fact it uses so-called
‘persistent cookies’ that remain on people’s computers after they
visit the website. This is a breach of the 2011 regulations and I have
made a complaint to the Data Commissioner about it. “People should not register or pay on this site. Instead, they should
join the Campaign against Household and Water Taxes and work to
establish such mass non-registration and non-payment that this tax
will be uncollectable.� ENDS [PMPress] Note for editor: The www.householdcharge.ie site is in breach of the 2011 regulations
(EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS AND
SERVICES) (PRIVACY AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) REGULATIONS 2011),
available here http://www.dataprotection.ie/documents/legal/SI336of2011.pdf
. In particular, it is in breach of section 5, part 3, which reads: “(3) A person shall not use an electronic communications network to store information, or to gain access to information already stored in the terminal equipment of a subscriber or user, unless (a) the subscriber or user has given his or her consent to that use, and (b) the subscriber or user has been provided with clear and
comprehensive information in accordance with the Data Protection Acts
which— (i) is both prominently displayed and easily accessible, and (ii) includes, without limitation, the purposes of the processing of the information.�
Looks like the reference to session cookies has been removed from the site now.
However it still doesn’t provide any detail about how I, or any other member of the public, will be able to get visibility of the amount of local taxes raised, how much of those taxes will be apportioned back to each local authority, or how my local authority will in turn allocate those taxes to various local services.
If this tax is to turn from being negative to positive in flavour, then local communities need to see real local benefits. Furthermore they need a say in what are the local priorities, and they should be viewed as stake-holders that have a say in how their local taxes are spent.
Currently we have the cart before the horse – a new tax without the required infrastructure to deliver the philosophy behind the proposal. A knee-jerk reaction to external influences.