This second episode of Season 9 of Data Malarkey – the podcast about using data, smarter – opens with a conversation that shows how empathy, data, and storytelling can power social change. Master Data Storyteller, Sam Knowles, the podcast’s host, speaks with Angela Balakrishnan, Executive Director of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs at the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO is the UK’s independent regulator for information rights, responsible for upholding data protection and freedom of information laws.
Angela’s career spans journalism, government communications, and now data protection. That journalistic instinct – to make complex ideas accessible – has shaped her approach to storytelling. She and her team work to translate the legal and technical language of data regulation into human terms, connecting with how data impacts real lives.
Putting people at the heart of data
For many, regulations such as the GDPR and the overall concept of data protection still conjure images of red tape and legal jargon. Angela and her team are working to shift that perception. The ICO’s purpose (“to empower people through information”) means helping both organisations and individuals understand that data protection isn’t just a compliance exercise: it’s about dignity, equality, and trust.
As Angela puts it, we live in a world where every tap, scroll, and swipe sheds a trail of data. The ICO’s challenge is to ensure that the systems and organisations holding that data treat it fairly, transparently, and accountably. Their message is simple: regulation should be a how-to, not a don’t-do.
“It was only an admin error” – The Ripple Effect campaign
The centrepiece of the episode is a discussion about the ICO’s Ripple Effect campaign, built around the striking line: “It was only an admin error.” The phrase captures how easily some organisations dismiss data breaches as trivial mistakes rather than events that can devastate lives.
The campaign’s starting point was data showing that people in vulnerable situations – such as survivors of domestic abuse or those living with HIV – were disproportionately affected by data breaches, often by the very institutions meant to protect them. Using a trauma-informed research approach, the ICO partnered with charities including Women’s Aid and the Terrence Higgins Trust to understand and explain the real human impact of these breaches.
The result was a campaign rooted in empathy and evidence. It showed that a single misdirected email or shared file can cause someone to lose their home, their job, or their sense of safety. By reframing data breaches through the lens of human stories, the ICO reached audiences that statistics alone never could.
And it worked. Ninety per cent of organisations exposed to the campaign said they would reconsider their approach to handling personal information. Two-thirds committed to changing how they manage and communicate breaches. The campaign has been widely praised for its impact and sensitivity, featuring on national media and used as a model across the public sector.
Beyond compliance and towards empathy and trust
Angela also describes how the ICO uses data itself – surveying public attitudes to track trust and awareness. Three-quarters of UK adults have exercised at least one information right, a sign that awareness is growing. But, as she notes, real progress comes when organisations see data protection not as a legal hurdle but as an opportunity to build trust.
The Ripple Effect campaign shows that when data storytelling starts with people, it can make regulation feel human and make change possible.
As Sam concludes, if more organisations followed the ICO’s lead, there might be less malarkey in the world of data privacy and a good deal more data-driven common sense.
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The first draft of this blog was written by ChatGPT, using a transcript of the episode and an ever-refined prompt.