A blog article by data protection specialist Jon Baines commented on a situation in which the Information Commissioner has had to consider, as a regulator, his own handling of a Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) request. Describing the situation as "legal fiction", Baines argues that "can it be said that the Commissioner, or the Commissioner’s staff, have obtained, or been provided with, information, when the Commissioner is the person who holds the information? I think not." In such circumstances, Baines writes that the Commissioner "cannot rely on the exemption at section 44 of FOIA, on the grounds that there is a statutory bar on disclosure." Will the requester ask for a decision notice?
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