Locks and Security News: your weekly locks and security industry newsletter
17th April 2024 Issue no. 701
Your industry news - first
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Data Reform Bill published
Jon Baines, Senior Data Protection Specialist at Mishcon de Reya LLP, says: "The proposed reforms to data protection law are very significant for individuals and organisations and will no doubt be the subject of much Parliamentary debate before they are passed.
The Government is not taking forward a lot of the proposals it mooted last year, but this is still a major proposed set of changes. Many of the proposed reforms are clearly intended to be business-friendly.
The UK will, though, keep the current "UK GDPR" framework, which is strongly tied to the EU's GDPR. There is still a risk, though, that the European Commission will see some of the changes as a "step too far" and lead it to review the current "adequacy" framework permitting free transfer of personal data between the EU and the UK.
Key details from the proposed changes include:
- The Government is not proposing to repeal the UK GDPR and the other data protection and electronic privacy laws and all of the core principles and main provisions of the law will remain.
- Businesses will no longer be required to appoint a Data Protection Officer, or keep a record of processing activities, or undertake data protection impact assessments, although there will a requirement to have a "privacy management programme".
- There will be no reintroduction of fees for Data Subject Access Requests but "vexatious" and "excessive" requests will be able to be refused. The Government is considering whether further changes are needed to deal with the challenges which such requests present to the health sector and small businesses.
- Websites will be able to use a wider range of cookies without seeking visitors' consent and the Government thinks this will remove the need for "cookie banners". However, fines for unlawful use of cookies, as well as for nuisance marketing emails and calls, will increase from a maximum of £500,000 to a maximum of £17.5m or 4% of global annual turnover (whichever is higher).
- The Information Commissioner's Office will be overhauled, and it may get a new name."
15th June 2022