Watchdog fines BA £183m

LONDON, July 08 (AFP): The UK's data privacy watchdog has fined British Airways more than £183 million after computer hackers last year stole bank details from hundreds of thousands of passengers, the pair said on Monday.

The UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said it had issued a notice of its intention to fine BA £183.39 million ($229.7 million, 205 million euros) for infringements of EU data protection rules, or GDPR.

"People's personal data is just that -- personal," Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said in a statement.

"When an organisation fails to protect it from loss, damage or theft it is more than an inconvenience. That's why the law is clear -- when you are entrusted with personal data you must look after it," she added.

In a separate statement, BA's parent group IAG said the fine was equivalent to 1.5 per cent of British Airways' turnover in 2017. Companies can be fined up to four per cent of annual global turnover for breaching EU data protection rules.