Summit: Richard Thomas advises on handling the data deluge

Richard Thomas is now the global strategy advisor for Hunton and Williams

Former Information Commissioner Richard Thomas gave his views on data privacy, government databases and Tory proposals to use Google and Microsoft to host public medical records at V3.co.uk's Information Overload Summit on Tuesday.

Thomas, who is now the global strategy adviser for law firm Hunton & Williams, discussed how individuals can stay in control of all their data online and how to maintain their privacy when using social networks.

He also spoke about what organisations should do before embarking on a new technology initiative to ensure customer and staff privacy.

Thomas gave his views on a poll V3.co.uk is conducting on what readers believe is the biggest cause of the data explosion. So far, some 21 per cent of readers said they feel overloaded by information because of social networks.

A video of the full interview with Thomas will be available to watch at the Summit web site later today, where you can also find more breaking news, views, analysis and video on the topic of Information Overload.