The British government presents its new privacy: less bureaucracy and more enterprise. So says the press release accompanying the presentation of the new data protection legislation proposal in Westminster.
The U.K. published a draft of its General Data Protection Regulation data protection overhaul. The Data Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill was introduced to Parliament on Wednesday by Michelle Donelan, the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology. The government first put up the reform bill’s first draft in July 2022, but it was shelved last September when Liz Truss was named prime minister.
The latest plan will raise fines for annoying calls and texts up to either 4% of global turnover or 17.5 million GBP, whichever is bigger. According to a press statement from the government, the bill will also lessen the number of consent pop-ups that appear on websites.
The amended measure will:
- Provide a straightforward, business-friendly structure that is easy to deploy and won’t cost much. Taking the finest parts of GDPR and giving companies more leeway in how they adhere to the new data rules.
- Make sure our new system maintains data compliance with EU requirements and the trust of the worldwide community in the UK’s stringent data protection regulations.
- Further, cut back on the paperwork that businesses must submit to prove compliance
- If organizations are currently in compliance with existing data regulation, encourage even greater global trade without adding further costs to their operations.
- Provide businesses more assurance about when they can process individuals’ personal information without their consent.
- Clarifying the situations in which strict protections are required for automated decision-making would increase public and commercial confidence in AI technologies.
The bill’s next step will likely be a second reading, which should happen in a few weeks.
GDPR & Brexit – What it means for businesses and the impact on data protection, find out here →
