ICO — Information Commissioner’s Office

Overview

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent data protection authority, responsible for upholding information rights in the public interest. It enforces the UK GDPR (the UK’s retained and adapted version of the EU General Data Protection Regulation following Brexit) and the Data Protection Act 2018. For neuroscience research, the ICO provides regulatory oversight for major data-intensive institutions including UK Biobank, HDR UK, and universities processing large-scale cohort and health data. The ICO publishes guidance on research exemptions under UK data protection law, which govern how personal data may be processed for scientific research purposes without individual consent. Following Brexit the ICO no longer participates in the EU EDPB but maintains bilateral cooperation agreements with EU supervisory authorities.

Connections

• relatedTo: GDPR (ICO enforces UK GDPR, the UK’s post-Brexit domestic adaptation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation)

Resources

• https://ico.org.uk/
• https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/research/ (ICO guidance on research and data protection)