Noel Titheradge v The Information Commissioner & Anor.
[2023] UKFTT 447 (GRC)
Johnna Reeder v The Information Commissioner
16 May 2024
[2024] UKFTT 388 (GRC)
First-tier Tribunal
A woman requested CCTV footage of an incident on a bus. The bus company refused, citing privacy. A judge agreed that releasing the video would violate others' privacy and the request was denied. The judge said privacy rights are more important than the right to the information in this case.
Key Facts
- •Johnna Reeder (Appellant) was involved in an altercation on a Cardiff Bus.
- •She complained to Cardiff Bus and requested CCTV footage under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
- •Cardiff Bus refused to release the unredacted footage citing FOIA and GDPR.
- •The Information Commissioner dismissed Reeder's complaint.
- •Reeder appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber).
Legal Principles
In cases where FOIA and data protection rights intersect, privacy rights generally prevail.
Common Services Agency v Scottish Information Commissioner [2008] 1 WLR 1550 HL
Under FOIA s40, the exemptions for personal data are unqualified; the public interest balancing test does not apply.
FOIA s40
'Necessary' in the context of data processing means reasonably necessary, and there must be no other reasonable means of achieving the objective.
South Lanarkshire Council v Scottish IC [2013] UKSC 55; IC v Halpin [2020] UKUT 29 (AAC)
Necessity is part of a proportionality test requiring minimum interference with privacy rights to achieve a legitimate aim.
R (Ali & another) v Minister for the Cabinet Office & another [2012] EWHC 1943 (Admin)
Disclosure under FOIA is to the whole world, without any duty of confidence.
Rodriguez-Noza v IC and Nursing & Midwifery Council [2015] UKUT 449 (AAC)
The FOIA s40(2) exemption applies if disclosure of personal data would contravene data protection principles (GDPR Article 5 and 6).
FOIA s40(2), GDPR Article 5, Article 6
The Tribunal's role is limited to reviewing the Commissioner's decision on the original FOIA request, not the internal review process.
Montague v Information Commissioner and Department for International Trade [2022] UKUT 104 AAC
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
The Tribunal found that the requested CCTV footage constituted personal data of third parties. Disclosure would contravene data protection principles as it wasn't 'necessary' to meet the Appellant's legitimate interests, given her complaint had already been considered. The Appellant's alternative proposal to view the footage on-site was deemed irrelevant to the Commissioner's decision on the original FOIA request.