Mark Harrison v Alasdair Cameron & Anor

Mark Harrison v Alasdair Cameron & Anor

The First Defendant was not a controller as he acted in his capacity as director of ACL, not personally. The purely personal or household activity exemption did not apply to the dissemination of the Recordings. Article 15(1)(c) UK GDPR entitles a data subject to the identities of recipients, but the controller (ACL) was entitled to withhold the identities under the rights of others exemption, given the reasonable risk of harassment or hostile action by the Claimant. The controller’s assessment fell within its margin of discretion.

Parties
Claimant: Mark Harrison; First Defendant: Alasdair Cameron; Second Defendant: Alasdair Cameron Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
06 July 2024
Procedural Posture
Claim Under UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 / Judgment After Trial
Outcome
Claim dismissed
Legal Topics
Subject Access Requests, Personal Data Processing, Controller Definition, Exemptions Under Data Protection Law
Data Protection Privacy Law Subject Access Requests Personal Data Processing Controller Definition Exemptions Under Data Protection Law

Case Brief

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Parties

Mark Harrison

Claimant

Alasdair Cameron

First Defendant

Alasdair Cameron Limited

Second Defendant

Procedural Posture

Claim Under UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 / Judgment After Trial

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the First Defendant’s processing of the Claimant’s personal data in relation to his ‘friends and family’ falls outside the scope of the UK GDPR/DPA 2018 as his processing was 'in the course of a purely personal or household activity'
  2. 2 Whether the First Defendant was a data controller in his personal capacity within the meaning of Article 4(7)
  3. 3 Whether Article 15(1)(c) entitles the Claimant to the identities of the recipients

Ratio Decidendi

The First Defendant was not a controller as he acted in his capacity as director of ACL, not personally. The purely personal or household activity exemption did not apply to the dissemination of the Recordings. Article 15(1)(c) UK GDPR entitles a data subject to the identities of recipients, but the controller (ACL) was entitled to withhold the identities under the rights of others exemption, given the reasonable risk of harassment or hostile action by the Claimant. The controller’s assessment fell within its margin of discretion.

Court Disposition

Claim dismissed