New AI Data Analytics toolkit launched by ICO

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The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has recently just published a new data analytics toolkit. The toolkit is expected to help organisational users of ‘Data analytics’ better understand whether their AI and Data Analytics practises, are compliant with relevant data protection regimes. This brief looks at the ICO’s toolkit and answers some of the most pertinent questions arising from its deployment including:

1. WHO THE NEW DATA ANALYTICS TOOLKIT is AIMED AT – USERS OF ‘DATA ANALYTICS’
2. WHAT DOES THE TOOLKIT DO?
3. OTHER NOTABLE CONTEXTUAL DEVELOPMENTS

1. WHO IS THE NEW ‘DATA ANALYTICS’ TOOLKIT AIMED AT? – USERS OF ‘DATA ANALYTICS‘

The ICO define Data analytics as: “the use of software to automatically discover patterns in data sets (where those data sets contain personal data) and use them to make predictions, classifications, or risk scores.”

This can include but isn’t limited to:

• Users of algorithms (‘Mathematical instructions or rules given to computer systems to complete tasks’)
• Users of AI (‘Computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence’)

2. WHAT DOES THE NEW DATA ANALYTICS TOOLKIT DO?

The toolkit helps organisations who are at the start of a project that involves data analytics and personal data, go through important data protection points and identify risks.  On completion, respondents will obtain a customisable report that is intended to act as a starting point for guiding further discussions around compliance.

Importantly, the toolkit covers:

• Processing under the UK GDPR and
• the law enforcement regime under the Data Protection Act 2018

It also has introductory questions to determine the relevant applicable regime and further asks questions around:

1. Lawfulness
2. Accountability
3. Governance
4. The Data protection Principles
5. Data Subjects rights

3. OTHER NOTABLE CONTEXTUAL DEVELOPMENTS TO ALSO BE CONSIDERED

The toolkit contributes to other works by the ICO around AI which should also be considered. These include:

• Legal updates, ICO and Alan Turing Institute publish guidance on explaining decisions made with AI 
• ICO launches guidance on AI and data protection

See also:

DOES YOUR AI PASS THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION RISK-ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK?