Details update form and the Data Protection Act 1998

I have had some difficulties with completing this recent request from the College.

If I read the consent form that they have sent me correctly, it appears to ask for my permission for the College to publish ‘in the reasonable opinion of the College’ my personal details held by them. This is information offered by me for the purpose of maintaining my membership, which would henceforth be available to everyone with an Internet connection worldwide. In addition, it is to be made available for use in future unspecified research, statistical analysis, and for use in what are mysteriously termed ‘related activities’.

All this is stated as being for furtherance of the ‘College’s objectives’, and relates to any information that I have supplied or will supply (with the possible exception of my ethnicity or ‘home contact details’), without limit of time. No reference is made to the benefits for members - and I am unable to identify any.

The College further state that as many people should agree to this as possible because… This indicates that the College does not expect members to be able to keep up with the number of updates to the information made available as individuals. The College will be the only people who are fully aware of what they are putting out. This is a huge (and possibly expensive) risk area.

‘… we would then need to check, every time we make one of those 400 monthly updates, that your name in particular isn’t there. If we can get agreement from pretty much everybody it will speed things up enormously.’ (my italics).

I am unhappy consenting for my information to be used for unspecified research at some time in the future. I am also unhappy that the College is requesting my consent for them to be sole arbiters of what references to me are to be made on their international and up-to-date website. I have an active interest in information management and technology and some understanding of the inherent risks.

Essentially, I believe that the degree of consent being requested would be unenforceable in the event of litigation. I am concerned that the College may feel ‘safer’ having asked so many different consents with only one signature requested. I believe this may be an illusion of safety, and that individual members perhaps have not fully considered how much ‘ consent’ is required.

The final paragraph of the consent form is punctuated with the graphic of an open padlock. Maybe there is still time?