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Greater protection, innovation and growth in the UK’s data sector as announced by the UK's Digital Secretary

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The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is set for an overhaul to drive greater innovation and growth in the UK’s data sector and better protect the public from major data threats, under planned reforms announced by the Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden

Bridget Treacy, partner (UK privacy and cybersecurity practice), Hunton Andrews Kurth, said: “The UK government has signalled an ambitious vision for reforming the UK’s data protection laws, simplifying the current regime, reducing red tape for business and encouraging data-led innovation. After careful analysis, the government believes it can significantly improve the UK’s data privacy regime and how it works in practice, while retaining high standards of protection for individuals. Far from attempting to replace the current regime, this looks like an attempt to fine tune it, making it better able to serve the needs of all stakeholders and a better fit for the digital age. 

“Taking a fresh look at international data flows is long overdue, and here it will be interesting to see how creative the UK government is prepared to be. Global data flows are an inevitable part of global commerce and the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the need for global collaboration in research and innovation. The UK government wants to enable trusted and responsible data flows, without reducing protection for individuals, and without needless red tape. A more agile, flexible, risk-based and outcomes-driven approach for determining adequacy may improve data protection overall. But here the government will need to take particular care, assuming it wishes to retain the UK’s adequacy status in the EU.

“It appears that even the Information Commissioner’s Office will be the subject of reform, with proposals to modernize the governance structure of the data protection regulator, set clear objectives and to ensure greater transparency and accountability. The ICO is a highly respected data protection regulator, offering much admired global leadership on difficult issues. Care will be needed to ensure the ICO’s much vaunted and highly valued independence are not compromised by the proposed reforms.

“Overall, this looks like a thoughtful attempt to improve the UK’s existing data protection regime, not through radical change, but by building on and fine tuning the existing framework to make it a better fit for our digital age. Organizations should welcome the opportunity to contribute to this consultation.”

Bojana Bellamy, president of Hunton Andrews Kurth’s Centre for Information Policy Leadership (CIPL), a pre-eminent global information policy think tank located in Washington, DC, London and Brussels said: “The UK government vision is a positive development and is much needed to address the opportunities and challenges of our digital age. The plans should be welcomed in both the U.K. and in the EU. This is not about lowering the level of data protection or getting rid of GDPR, it is about making the law actually work in practice, more effectively and in a way that creates benefits for all – organisations using data, individuals, regulators and the UK society and economy. Laws and regulatory practices need to evolve and be agile just like the technologies they are trying to regulate. Countries that create the flexible and innovative regulatory regimes will be better placed to respond to the Fourth Industrial Revolution we are witnessing today.

“There is no doubt that some aspects of the GDPR do not work well, and some areas are unhelpfully obscure. For example, the rules for data use in scientific and industrial research and innovation are cumbersome to locate and analyse, hindering use and sharing of data for these beneficial purposes; it is difficult to use personal data for training AI algorithms to avoid bias; individuals’ consent to data processing has been rendered meaningless through over-use; and international data flows have become mired in red tape.

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“The UK government’s bold vision to simplify the current data protection regime, reduce red tape, put more onus on organisations to manage and use data responsibly, and to reinforce the pivotal role of the UK privacy regulator is the right way forward. It achieves both effective protection for individuals and their data and enables data driven innovation, growth and societal benefits. Other governments and countries should follow the UK lead.

“It is high time to revamp the rules for international data flows and the UK Government is absolutely right to focus on enabling trusted and responsible data flows. Businesses in all sectors will welcome a more seamless regime for data transfers and adequacy decisions in respect of more countries. Corporate data privacy officers divert too much resource to addressing the legal technicalities of data flows from the EU, especially in the aftermath of the EU Schrems II judgement. Consumers and businesses would be better served by organisations focusing on privacy by design, risk impact assessments and building comprehensive privacy management programmes fit for the new digital economy. 

“It is encouraging that the government recognizes the UK Information Commissioner’s Office as a key digital regulator in the UK, with a critical remit of protecting both individuals’ information rights and enabling responsible data driven innovation and growth in the UK. The ICO has been a progressive regulator and influencer in the global regulatory community. The ICO must be given the resources and tools to be strategic, innovative, engaging early on with organisations using data and encouraging and rewarding best practices and accountability.”

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