A former Government Minister has suggested plans to diverge from European Union data protection rules may be ditched, adding that such a move could result in the UK being no longer seen as a trusted partner in the field of data security and could cost businesses money.
Lord Kirkhope says the change of Conservative Party leader, and by extension Prime Minister, offer an opportunity to pause post-Brexit divergence plans.
The new Data Protection and Digital Information Bill puts forward a range of proposals to “remove the UK GDPR’s prescriptive requirements”, including reducing the requirements placed on firms to employ a named data-protection officer and conduct impact assessments
Lord Kirkhope – who served as immigration minister in the 90s – has warned that “simply because we can diverge, from EU laws, does not mean that we should, stating the benefits are “negligible at best”.
Writing in The House, a magazine widely distributed in Parliament, he commented: “The European Commission has adopted data adequacy decisions for the UK, which recognised comparable high standards of data protection and allows data exchanges to continue unimpeded. This should have been the beginning of a new chapter of UK-EU relations on data protection standards. However, the government’s white paper (which outlined its intention to follow a policy of regulatory divergence) does not give me much hope that the level of cooperation in the future will be sufficient to protect our data flows.
Lord Kirkhope warns the likely result would be the United Kingdom no longer being recognised as a “trusted partner” in the field of data security and the end of a free flow of data.
“Rather than £11 billion in growth through deregulation, as suggested by the government, the potential loss of data flows will cost business far more,” he said.
“The next prime minister, and the government that he or she will form, should rethink our approach to data security. They must have the common sense and courage to break with that past trajectory and act in the national interest.
“We need policy of dynamic alignment with European data protection regulation as it evolves over the coming years. This does not mean simply taking and blindly implementing new rules but actively engaging with the European Union as a partner.”
Also a former MEP, Lord Kirkwood was involved in drafting the General Data Protection regulation. He said: “I believe this matters for three reasons: our national security, our economy and for consumer protection.
The European Commission adopted data adequacy decisions for the UK, which recognise comparable high standards of data protection and allows data exchanges to continue unimpeded.
