(1)Subject to subsections (2) to (4), no information with respect to any particular business which has been obtained under or by virtue of this Act shall, so long as that business continues to be carried on, be disclosed without the consent of the person for the time being carrying on that business.
(2)Subsection (1) does not apply to any disclosure of information which is made—
(a)for the purpose of facilitating the performance of—
(i)any functions of the Independent Television Commission, the Welsh Authority or the Radio Authority under this Act or the 1988 Regulations, or
(ii)any functions of the Director General of Fair Trading, the Secretary of State or the Monopolies and Mergers Commission under the M1Fair Trading Act 1973 (excluding Parts II, III and XI of that Act), the M2Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976, the M3Competition Act 1980 or this Act or the 1988 Regulations;
(b)in connection with the investigation of any criminal offence or for the purposes of any criminal proceedings or a report of any such proceedings;
(c)for the purposes of any civil proceedings brought under or by virtue of the Fair Trading Act 1973 (excluding Part III), the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976 or this Act or the 1988 Regulations, or for the purposes of a report of any such proceedings; or
(d)in pursuance of any Community obligation.
(3)Nothing in subsection (1) shall be construed—
(a)as limiting the matters which may be included in, or be made public as part of, a report under section 186 above or under Schedule 4 to this Act, or
(b)as applying to any information which has been made public as part of such a report.
(4)Subsection (1) does not apply to any information obtained as mentioned in section 196(4) above.
(5)The following provisions, namely—
(a)section 133(1) of the Fair Trading Act 1973,
(b)section 41(1) of the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976, and
(c)section 19(1) of the Competition Act 1980,
shall not apply to any disclosure of information which is made for the purpose of facilitating the performance of any functions of the Independent Television Commission, the Welsh Authority or the Radio Authority under this Act or the 1988 Regulations.
(6)Any person who discloses any information in contravention of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and liable—
(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;
(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine, or both.
(7)In this section “the 1988 Regulations” means the M4Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988.