The Information Commissioner’s Office has issued an apology for delayed data protection complaint response times.

“Anyone who has felt the need to make a complaint to us deserves a timely response,” an ICO spokesperson said. “Our current response times are not where we want them to be, and we know how frustrating this is for people who are asking for our help.”

The ICO noted the overwhelm their staff has been under as the regulator received 746 more complaints in the period from October to December in 2024 than in the same period in 2023.

The regulator says it plans on getting back to its commitment to respond to 80% of complaints within 90 days – it only managed this with 12% of complaints in the last three months of 2024.

In the last quarter of 2024, the ICO received over 10,000 data protection complaints, an 8% year-on-year increase. This could mean that data protection violations are on the rise, which would be alarming considering data regulation laws may change soon, introducing more confusion when it comes to data governance.

Conversely, it could however mean that more people than ever are aware of their data protection rights and are choosing more often to exercise them in the form of complaints.

To meet the growing demand, the ICO is recruiting 19 members of staff to help it deal with the ongoing increase in complaints.

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The ICO said that it is also exploring the use of automating tools – not in decision making processes, but in lessening administrative tasks so that case officers can spend more time on complaints.

“We want to thank people for their patience while we address this issue,” the ICO spokesperson said. “Our frontline staff continue to work hard to respond to all complaints and we are confident that our approach will bring about the necessary improvements. Please be assured that we continue to triage cases and prioritise those that urgently need attention.”