FOIA requests to Central Government Departments are all very well and good, but there are thousands of Public Bodies which fall under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Many of the list of exemptions do not apply to them.
In this category come Quasi Autonomous Non Govermental Organisations (QUANGOs) or Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) through which various governments have tried to weasel out of having to take the political blame when things go wrong, by claiming not to have day to day control, but which they attempt to micromanage centrally , especially in terms of budgets and statistical targets.
One such seems to be the extraordinary mishmash which now constitutes the Office of Communications, Ofcom
"Ofcom is the regulator for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services"
Ofcom was formed through the amalgamation of three different quangos/ndpbs.
They claim to:
At the end of September 2004, it was reported that a Code of Practice regarding GSM Mobile Phone Location Based Services had been drawn up.
Location Based Services are now being sold using information derived from each of the Mobile Phone Networks base station / cellular mast antenna locations, the siting of which often provokes protests (and which will no doubt generate a lot of FOIA requests). On the one hand the accuracy of such Location fixes is often misleading, especially out in the countryside, and on the other, the web and SMS interfaces to these systems are often shockingly insecure, which is bordering on the criminal, since these services are aimed at tracking children and vulnerable adults.
Why, as the Industry Regulator for the Mobile Phone Telecommunications industry and the body in charge of Radio Frequency Spectrum allocations, was Ofcom. apparently not involved ?
Is this COP more designed to protect and limit the liability of the Mobile Phone Network companies from the 3rd Party Location Based Service provider companies ?
What are the the exact rules which deal with the inherent security and privacy problems in services which are meant to reassure people about the safety of children and vulnnerable adults, but which if compromised could become a positive extra danger to them ?
We expressed worries about this at the time, and contacted Ofcom by phone for a copy of this Code of Practice, but were fobbed off with an "if it isn't on the website, then it doesn't exist" attitude.
Did none of the 5 mobile phone companies bother to consult Ofcom on this as yet Code of Practice ?
Why is this industry Code of Practice not public and not endorsed by Ofcom ?
Possible Freedom of Information Act Request for:
- All emails, minutes of meetings, reports regarding any decisions to permit the sale of Mobile Phone Cell ID Location Based Data by the 5 Ofcom licensed network companies to 3rd Party Location based Services companies and through them to the public.
- A copy of the Location Based Services Code of Practice itself.
If Ofcom do not have a copy, then they surely should request one.
If Ofcom asked on or all of the 5 mobile phone network companies which it licesnses and regulates, for a copy of this Code of Practice to publish on the Ofcom website, then does anyone seriously believe that such a request would not have been fulfilled with the utmost urgency, probably on the same day ?
N.B. This COP is not available on any of the websites of the mobile phone networks, the Home office or even one of the children's charities which was reported to have been involved in drawing it up.
If that is the case, then this might be an interesting test of the Freedom of Information Act, for information which should be available to a statutory public body, to which they are entitled, but which is being denied to them and the public through error, ommission or skullduggery.
Possible exemptions:
None so far as we can see. There is no commercial interest exemption, as this Mobile Telephones are a Regulated Industry, and the prices are fixed by Ofcom itself. A Code of Practice about Location Based Services has nothing to do with any technology, it has to do with management practices, privacy, complaints procedures etc.
