The Government has resurrected plans for new UK data protection laws – consigned to the scrapheap in the final days of the previous Conservative Government, despite nearly three years of heated debate – although exact details about how it will affect the marketing industry are yet to be disseminated.
Out goes the Data & Digital Information Bill and in comes the distinctively dull sounding Data (Use & Access) Bill, which had its first reading in the House of Lords yesterday (Wednesday).
The Government claims the new Bill “will harness the enormous power of data to boost the UK economy by £10bn, and free up millions of police and NHS staff hours. It will also unlock the secure and effective use of data for the public interest, without adding pressures to the country’s finances”.
While the main measures are designed for public services, including cutting down on bureaucracy for police officers, making patients’ data easily transferable across the NHS, boosting online government services, and helping utilities firms, there are three core objectives: growing the economy, improving UK public services, and making people’s lives easier.
The measures will be underpinned by a revamped Information Commissioner’s Office, with a new structure and powers of enforcement, amid claims that this will “ensure people’s personal data will be protected to high standards”.
In the previous Bill, it was proposed that the ICO would be modernised to have a chair, chief executive and a board in line with other UK regulators but this has yet to be confirmed.
Even so, in the official announcement there is not a single mention of how the marketing and advertising industry will be impacted.
The Bill does plan to legislate on digital verification services, meaning companies who provide tools for verifying identities will be able to get certified against the Government’s stringent trust framework of standards, and receive a ‘trust mark’ to use as a result.
As well as increasing trust in the market, ministers claims these efficiency gains will boost the UK economy by £4.3bn over the next decade.
The trust mark will be a new logo to show digital verification services are approved by the new Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA) within Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT).
In addition, the legislation will pave the way for an expansion in the use of “smart data”, beyond open banking.
The Government cites one example being that authorised third parties could act as an intermediary service for consumers’ data, allowing them to cancel one service and sign up for another with form filling becoming just a click of a button. In open banking this is seen in the Current Account Switch Service.
Information Commissioner John Edwards said: “We welcome the introduction of the Data (Use & Access) Bill in the House of Lords and look forward to seeing it progress through parliament to Royal Assent.
“This is an important piece of legislation which will allow my office to continue to operate as a trusted, fair and independent regulator and provide certainty for all organisations as they innovate and promote the UK economy. Our response to the bill will be published in due course.”
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