LONDON—The UK should introduce new criminal penalties for breaches of data privacy after the loss of personal records of almost half the population, a panel of lawmakers said.

The data-protection regulator must get new powers to check on government-data systems and there should be laws making significant security breaches a criminal offense, Parliament’s justice committee said in a report published Thursday.

Tax authorities on November 20 admitted losing two computer disks containing personal details of almost every family claiming child-benefit payments. The loss, the largest of its kind in UK history, lays open 25 million people to the risk of identity fraud and theft. A month later, Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly said that a US subcontractor had lost records of 3 million who took driving tests since 2004.

“The scale of the data loss by government bodies and contractors is truly shocking, but the evidence we have had points to further hidden problems,” justice committee chairman Alan Beith said in an e-mailed statement. “It is frankly incredible” that the measures introduced since the missing tax disks were made public “were not already standard procedure.”

The error has led to a slump in support for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, with many voters questioning the competence of his government. A YouGov Plc. poll found 60 percent of people were “dissatisfied” with Brown as prime minister compared with 27 percent in July and 48 percent in October. YouGov sampled 2,060 voters from December 17 to 19.

Brown and his Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, whose Treasury oversees the tax service, say security procedures were breached when the data was downloaded and sent by courier to the National Audit Office. They say there was no “systemic” failure, as suggested by the Conservative opposition.

The justice committee said it is “extremely concerned” about the risk of future data breaches. It called for new rules that would require companies to report losses of data and laws that would make significant security breaches, whether reckless or repeated, a criminal offense.

Government proposals to let Information Commissioner Richard Thomas carry out spot checks on government departments should be enacted without delay, the panel said. (Bloomberg)

Philippine Intellectual Property (IP) Strategy

Crafted by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Philippines)—headed by director general Adrian Cristobal Jr.—together with IP generators in the visual arts, literature and design, as well as science and technology groups, the Philippine IP Strategy was presented to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in November at the groundbreaking National Innovation Summit

UK needs tougher laws to protect private data, lawmakers say

LONDON—The UK should introduce new criminal penalties for breaches of data privacy after the loss of personal records of almost half the population, a panel of lawmakers said.

PARIS AND MILAN—Global semiconductor sales rose 0.7 percent in November from the previous month as consumers bought liquid-crystal display television sets and digital music players, an industry group said.

SAN FRANCISCO—An index of Silicon Valley stocks fell late Wednesday, led by International Business Machines Corp., Apple Inc. and Electronic Arts Inc. (E-Arts).

MONTREAL AND JERUSALEM—International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), the world’s biggest computer-services company, bought Israeli data-storage provider XIV to meet growing demand for digital archiving.