DATA PROTECTION BILL
“A new law will ensure that the United Kingdom
retains its world-class
regime protecting personal
data”
The purpose of the Bill is to:
-
Make our data protection framework suitable for our new
digital age, allowing citizens to better control their
data.
The main benefits of the Bill would
be:
-
To meet the manifesto commitments to give people new
rights to “require major social media platforms to delete
information held about them at the age of 18” (p.79) and to
“bring forward a new data protection law” (p.80).
-
To ensure that our data protection framework is suitable
for our new digital age, and cement the UK’s position at the
forefront of technological innovation, international data
sharing and protection of personal data.
-
To allow police and judicial authorities to continue to
exchange information quickly and easily with Our international
partners in the fight against terrorism and other serious
crimes.
-
To implement the General Data Protection Regulation and
the new Directive which applies to law enforcement data
processing, meeting our obligations while we remain an EU
member state and helping to put the UK in the best position to
maintain our ability to share data with other EU member states
and internationally after we leave the EU.
The main elements of the Bill are:
-
To establish a new data protection regime for non-law
enforcement data processing, replacing the Data Protection Act
1998. The new rules strengthen rights and empower individuals
to have more control over their personal data, including a
right to be forgotten when individuals no longer want their
data to be processed, provided that there are no legitimate
grounds for retaining it.
-
To modernise and update the regime for data processing by
law enforcement agencies. The regime will cover both domestic
processing and cross-border transfers of personal data.
-
To update the powers and sanctions available to the
Information Commissioner.
Territorial extent and application
• The Bill would apply to the UK. Data protection is a
reserved matter.
Key facts
-
Over 70% of all trade in services are enabled by data
flows, meaning that data protection is critical to
international trade.
-
The digital sector contributed £118 billion to the
economy and employed over 1.4 million people across the UK in
2015.
