US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s £30 million golf course in northern Scotland is under fire after apparently failing to register with data protection watchdog the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The luxury resort told the Guardian that its failure to notify the ICO that it collects and stores personal and staff data as well as operates a number of CCTV cameras was merely a “clerical error” which has now been fixed.
Trump International Golf Course Scotland has been operating for at least four years.
The ICO said it has now received a valid registration from the resort and claimed any further investigation would not be proportionate.
Nevertheless, Scottish Lib Dems justice spokesman Liam McArthur told the paper: “There is a strong case for the ICO to look into how the Trump organization stored and used the data that it holds.”
Question marks have also been raised about the resort’s use of CCTV cameras, specifically whether it provides enough notice to members of the public of their use and whether they’re being used to monitor neighbors backing on to the resort, as alleged.
“The company has no need for cameras outwith those areas and has never had any cause to supply CCTV footage in any criminal proceedings,” the golf course responded in a statement. “No other CCTV activity has ever taken place in or around the Trump estate and the allegation of intrusive surveillance of neighbouring properties is unfounded and categorically untrue.”
The ICO confirmed to Infosecurity that it would only prosecute an organization for failure to register with it if that business had first ignored outreach from the watchdog.
“Where data controllers respond to advice from the ICO that they need to notify and complete the registration process, it generally would not be a proportionate response to then commence a prosecution,” a spokesperson said.
“We treat those that we regulate in a consistent way and to pursue the golf course in these circumstances would be inconsistent to how we have dealt with others in similar circumstances.”