A data breach at Bristol City Councilresulted in the leakage of information such as the names and email addresses of children who have disabilities or special educational needs.
The children's parents are very upset by the data breach, which occurred on Monday morning.
According to reports, hundreds of residents received the message from Bristol City Council, which was an invitation to participate in a consultation survey.
But the recipient list was visible in the mass email.
The council's director responsible for children and their families, Ann James, apologised to parents and asked anyone who received the email to delete it.
In a letter to parents, Ms James acknowledged that there had been a breach of GDPR.
"This means that personal information was shared this morning, which should not have been done. We did not use a 'blind carbon copy' when we sent you the email this morning, resulting in your child's name and email address being visible to everyone who received the email."
“The breach was caused by human error and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused you or your family.”
The council has referred the data breach to the Information Commissioner's Office and will comply fully with its protocol.
Ms James added: “I sincerely apologise for this error and want to assure you that we have taken steps to find out what happened and why, to help prevent a similar incident in the future.” The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) will investigate and make recommendations.
