[Talk-GB] FHRS and businesses run from home

[David Woolley]

On 21/11/16 12:58, Dave F wrote:
> The FHRS database listing a business at a domestic address is
> verification IMO.

It's also personal data.  I actually thought that FHRS itself suppressed 
some of this, but if you include it, it becomes subject to the Data 
Protection Act, which put legal constraints on the owners of OSM to 
manage it properly.

Whilst a lot of home office businesses want to be on OSM, because it is 
a way of advertising, I think some of the FHRS registrations would not 
want that sort of publicity.

Incidentally, Google has the concept of a service area business with no 
public access, so if a plumber tries to register their house, and they 
are caught out, they will be removed, because Google take the position 
that people will not actually visit the business at that location.

(Although I've no reason to believe that the data in question has a 
compatible licence, my council released a list of HMO addresses under 
FoI,  but withheld the owners' names under DPA.)