HL Deb 17 May 1999 vol 601 c1WA
Lord Birdwood

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether any United Kingdom broadcaster is receiving any form of private information about its subscribers through its digital decoders without the knowledge of those subscribers. [HL2340]

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

As with any company which has a customer database, broadcasters who hold information on subscribers to their services are subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1984. Under the terms of the Act, companies are required to register details of the type of information they are processing with the Data Protection Registrar. The register is a public document and these details can be checked by the subscriber. BSkyB have informed us that the only information obtained through their digital decoders is to provide broadcasters with information for the billing of pay-per-view events.