New data protection rules, which will contribute £4.7bn to the UK economy between now and 2033 by giving organizations “greater flexibility” to protect personal data, get their second reading in the House of Commons amid continued calls from industry not to Has happened. Separate from the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union (EU).
The government claims that the amended Data Protection and Digital Information Bill – which was to be reintroduced in Parliament in March 2023 – will also reduce the number of cookie pop-up notifications and nuisance telephone calls experienced by ordinary consumers. Will remove It will make it easier and faster for people to digitally verify their identity by establishing a framework for reliable and secure digital verification services.
Critics of the proposals have previously pointedly said Britain risks losing its hard-won data sufficiency deal with Brussels and weakening data protection regulation to the detriment of the personal safety and privacy of everyone in the country. But the government has insisted that the bill will maintain the current high standards of data protection and that it will be able to satisfy the EU that the UK can maintain adequacy.
It also said the legal changes would improve the country’s ability to strike other international data deals and ensure the protection of those partnerships, allowing UK businesses to trade “billions” not only with their EU neighbors but on a global basis. Pound’s data trade will be allowed to be “confiscated”.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday 17 April, Julia López, Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure, said: “The UK cannot sidestep the debate by simply rubber-stamping whatever iteration of the GDPR comes out of Brussels.
“We have a momentous opportunity on our hands to take a new path and, in doing so, to lead a global conversation about how we can best use data as a force for good – a conversation in which Using more effectively and maintaining higher data security standards are seen not as conflicting but as mutually reinforcing objectives, as trust in this more effective system will lead to trust for information sharing.
“We are starting the revolution today, not by overturning the apple cart and causing compliance headaches for UK firms, but by moving away from an inflexible one-size-fits-all system and towards a risk-based development . and focused on innovation, flexibility and the needs of our citizens, scientists, public services and companies,” she said.
Lopez cited recently published research from YouGov which found that a fifth of marketing professionals in the UK know “absolutely nothing” about whether they are bound by the GDPR.
“It’s not just business,” she said. “Not even the people whose privacy is protected by our laws understand this. Instead, they click a pile of cookie pop-ups just to see their screen.”
red flags
The SNP’s Carol Monahan warned that in its current form the bill threatens to undermine privacy and data protection, and by potentially moving away from the adequacy concept in the EU GDPR, it lends weight to the idea that different countries are different in data protection. Standards can be maintained in different but equally effective ways.
“The only way we can properly maintain standards is to have a single standard across different trading partners, but the bill risks creating a scenario where EU citizens’ data is passed through the UK to those countries.” with whom the EU has no agreement, ”said Monahan.
“The changes are raising red flags in Europe. Many businesses have spoken out about the negative effects of the bill’s proposals. Many of them will continue to exert their control over EU standards and to ensure that EU conditions but will work so that they can continue to do business there,” Monahan said.
“According to conservative estimates, the loss of the adequacy agreement could cost £1.6 billion in legal fees alone. That figure does not include costs resulting from disruption to digital trading and investment,” she said.
Privacy experts react
Mariusz Briedis, chief technology officer at NordVPN, said: “By seeking to clear waters between itself and Europe over GDPR rules, the government is putting the personal privacy of UK residents at risk. Easing some data restrictions may allow smaller companies to There may be benefits, but ultimately it has the potential to allow the consolidation of power among tech giants, who already wield enormous influence over our lives.
“Companies should be made more accountable when it comes to our information, but instead some of the government’s proposals undermine the need for transparency and can make it harder for people to find out how their data is used.” Used to be.”
Breedis said he was also concerned that weakening key principles in the GDPR could make it easier for corporations to be reckless and sometimes open the door to large-scale data breaches.
“Millions of consumers are legally collecting and trading their details every day, so it is vital that our data rights are prioritised. These plans, which tilt the balance in favor of advertisers and data brokers, may risk turning our personal freedoms into an afterthought,” he said.
Amanda Brock, CEO of OpenUK, was similarly unconvinced, saying that freeing UK businesses from red tape would only be beneficial if they could continue to work with EU citizens and their data across borders – as they currently do. I can.
“The Bill lightens the requirements of the GDPR in a number of ways which could potentially be considered to make life easier for businesses. However, any business operating with the EU will still need to meet the GDPR requirements. So it is questionable whether a separate regime would actually deliver real benefits to UK businesses,” said Brock.
“Changing the rules carries risks with adequacy decisions. For most businesses in the digital world, the GDPR still has to be complied with. It is perhaps not surprising to see Northern Ireland decide so soon after reaching the agreement But it is of course leaving UK business to the whims of the EU on adequacy decisions.
She said: “If the EU confirms that the new lighter UK rules are effectively equivalent, they effectively reduce the need for their own requirements under the GDPR. It is a no-win situation.
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This news is auto-generated through an RSS feed. We don’t have any command over it. News source: Multiple Agencies: hindustantimes, techrepublic, computerweekly,
