As a result of Brexit, the United Kingdom has also introduced data protection legislation.
January 14, 2021
What is the European Union Act 2018 ?
It is a UK Law which repeals the European Communities Act 1972 and the parliamentary approval required for any withdrawal agreement negotiated between the UK government and the European Union. To provide legal continuity, it enables the transposition of directly applicable already-existing EU law into UK law.
What is the so-called “UK GDPR” ?
This instrument uses powers under the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 to amend the Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications, in order to ensure that the legal framework for data protection within the UK continues to function correctly after exit day.
The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations rename the retained EU GDPR the ‘UK GDPR’. They amend the UK GDPR to make it work properly as domestic law. There will be no material difference in most cases.
For example:
- Core definition and terminology stay the same;
- “Commissioner” instead of “Supervisory Authority”;
- “United Kingdom” instead of “Union”;
- “Domestic law” rather than “EU law”;
- Adequacy decisions made by the European Commission are replaced with adequacy regulations made by the Secretary of State;
The EU GDPR and the UK GDPR will be almost exactly the same.
However,
It is likely that additional national legislation will be needed for it to work properly. For example, it is not clear how to interpret the numerous references to “Union law” in the UK GDPR, since much of the legislation referred to in this context will no longer apply in the UK.
Your DPM/ DPO at MyData-Trust
Your DPM/ DPO at MyData-Trust is available to help you to identify from the list above what needs to be implemented and set the priorities. We can also act as your DPR (if not already the case) and respond to your needs depending on your situation and location.
If you have any questions regarding the scope, the Data Protection Representative, the Competent Supervisory Authority or about Data Transfers, please contact us. MyData-Trust team will put all their efforts to support and sustain your activities involving personal data.
MyDataTRUST has been in the UK for a few months now! If you have any question regarding the GDPR in the UK, BREXIT or anything related to data protection, contact us! Damien (UK Director) Mathilde and Noa can help you determine your needs and can answer your questions regarding data protection in the UK.
To go further…
Following Brexit, the British Isles and the EU have been given 6months to put the thorny issues of the GDPR in order. European users’ data will be protected by the EU regulation until July 1.
