4 December 2000

Ms. Elizabeth France
Data Protection Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Dear Ms France

This letter asks you to commence proceedings to halt Amazon.co.uk's processing operations in the UK until it complies with UK data protection law. The company is presently in wilful violation of several requirements of the Act, and should not be permitted to continue operating unlawfully.

On 14 September I wrote to the Managing Director of Amazon.co.uk 1) requesting access to all information relating to me that Amazon holds, 2) declaring my intention to then demand that Amazon then delete that information, and 3) objecting to the transfer of the data to the US. His office acknowledged receipt of the letter on 27 October, but I have to date received no further reply. Amazon has far exceeded the maximum time allowed to comply with an access request.

Furthermore, in separate correspondence with Jason Catlett Amazon has indicated that a deletion function "is not something that our systems were designed to accommodate easily" and has refused to do so for him, saying that the information must remain in order to make its fraud-detection systems more effective.

This company is plainly unable and unwilling to meet its responsibilities under UK data protection law.

I ask you to issue an order prohibiting Amazon.co.uk from processing data and from effecting any transfer of personal data from the UK to the US. Only after the company demonstrates its willingness and capacity to operate legally should these prohibitions be removed.

Sincerely

Simon Davies

Director
Privacy International