The vote to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty may be signed, sealed and delivered in the Commons but the Upper House is seemingly leaving no stone unturned in its quest for knowledge about how Brexit will affect the European Union data protection package.
Having quizzed data protection legal experts, as well as the Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham, the House of Lords EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee will tomorrow take evidence from TechUK and international law firm Bird & Bird.
The Committee will explore how important data flows between the UK and the EU are to the UK economy; how the UK can establish global relationships on data protection and information sharing as well as the extent to which the UK would have to follow the EU’s lead in transfer of personal data after ceasing to be a member.
TechUK deputy chief executive Antony Walker will be first up for a grilling, followed by the co-head of international data protection practice at Bird & Bird Ruth Boardman.
The duo will have had plenty of time to do their homework, too, as the committee has already outlined the questions it is likely to ask:
How influential is the UK in setting global data protection standards? Do you expect the UK’s level of influence to change post-Brexit, and if so how might that change the nature of the internal EU policy debate, given the UK has traditionally be seen as relatively business-friendly?
How important is the EU-US Privacy Shield to the UK digital sector and would we need a replacement for the Privacy Shield to govern data transfers with the US once we leave the EU?
Assuming that the UK will be treated as a third country on data protection issues once the UK is no longer a member of the EU, what would be the impact on the digital sector if there were no ‘adequacy’ decision in place at the point of leaving the EU?
Answers on a postcard, please or you could wait until later in the week when Decision Marketing will reveal all…
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