Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Small businesses don't need Data Protection Officer, tougher fines for nuisance calls: UK new data rules

The government said it believed the new rules would not stop the free flow of data with the European Union and lawyers said Britain was adopting incremental reform.

Small businesses don't need Data Protection Officer, tougher fines for nuisance calls: UK new data rules

Britain will set out a new data protection regime on Friday that diverges from EU regulations, which it says will ease the burden of compliance on businesses and reduce the number of annoying cookie pop-ups that plague consumers online.

The government said it believed the new rules would not stop the free flow of data with the European Union and lawyers said Britain was adopting incremental reform.

Britain's data regulations since Brexit have mirrored the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the comprehensive legislation adopted in the bloc in 2016.

In return the EU recognised Britain's standards - a process called adequacy - that enabled the seamless flow of data to continue.

The European Commission (EC) said in August "it would closely monitor any developments to the UK's rules", adding that adequacy could be suspended, terminated or amended if changes resulted in an unacceptable level of protection. 

Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries said the reforms would "make it easier for businesses and researchers to unlock the power of data" as well as retaining a "global gold standard for data protection".

For example, the bill will remove the need for small businesses to have a Data Protection Officer and to undertake lengthy impact assessments, it said, with a privacy management programme used to the same end.

It will also include tougher fines for firms hounding people with nuisance calls.

Britain said the EC had itself made clear that adequacy decisions did not require countries to have the same rules.

"Our view is that these reforms are fully compatible with maintaining the free flow of personal data from Europe," a government spokesperson said.

Linklaters technology lawyer Peter Church said the government had rejected the idea of replacing GDPR with an entirely new framework and instead opted for incremental reform of the current framework.

"This is good news for data flows between the EU and the UK, as these more modest reforms mean the EU Commission is less likely to revoke the UK's adequacy finding, which would have caused significant disruption," he said.

(Reuters)

More For You

Tory MP Bob Blackman seeks Britain’s formal apology for Jallianwala massacre

Bob Blackman

Tory MP Bob Blackman seeks Britain’s formal apology for Jallianwala massacre

DAYS before the 106th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, a Conservative MP urged the British government to acknowledge its failings and formally apologise to the people of India.

Bob Blackman, the MP for Harrow East, spoke in the Commons last Thursday (27), recalling the deadly massacre in Amritsar on April 13, 1919, when people had gathered to celebrate the Baisakhi festival, and called for an apology.

Keep ReadingShow less
Zhenhao Zou

Zhenhao Zou, 28, lived in south London and used online platforms and dating apps to meet women, according to London’s Metropolitan Police.

Reuters

More women come forward with allegations against serial rapist Zhenhao Zou

TWENTY-THREE additional women have contacted police with allegations against Zhenhao Zou, a Chinese PhD student convicted in London last month of drugging and raping 10 women.

At the time of his trial, police had video evidence suggesting up to 50 more victims and were working to identify them. Detectives now believe the number of his victims is higher than initially estimated.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK Introduces Digital Entry Permit for European Visitors

The ETA can be purchased online for £10 (12 euros), but the cost will rise to £16 from 9 April. (Representational image: Reuters)

Reuters

European visitors to UK will now need digital entry permit

FROM WEDNESDAY, European visitors to the UK will need an online entry permit as part of new travel requirements introduced by the British government.

The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), a digital permit, will be required for travellers from Europe. UK officials say the move aims to enhance border security and simplify entry procedures.

Keep ReadingShow less
China pledges to be a good friend and partner to Bangladesh

Xi Jinping

China pledges to be a good friend and partner to Bangladesh

THE Chinese president, Xi Jinping, last Friday (28) pledged deeper cooperation with his Bangladeshi counterpart Muhammad Yunus in a meeting that came as Dhaka seeks new friends to offset frosty ties with India.

Yunus took charge of Bangladesh last August after the toppling of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to New Delhi after a student-led uprising.

Keep ReadingShow less
Milton-Keynes

Eyewitnesses described hearing shouting before the shooting

iStock

Man shot dead by police outside Milton Keynes railway station

A MAN was shot dead by police outside Milton Keynes Central station after reports that he was carrying a firearm.

Thames Valley Police (TVP) said officers were called to the station at 12:55, where they challenged a suspect carrying a knife. The man moved towards officers before police fired at him.

Keep ReadingShow less