ICO admits GDPR is 'like changing tyre on moving car'

Brand owners might think they have a battle on their hands to get their systems ready for the EU General Data Protection Regulation but Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham has admitted her office is hardly on top of things, conceding that preparing for the new laws is like changing a tyre on a moving car.
In the first admission that GDPR will be challenging for all, Denham said the regulator is running at a “race pace” to prepare for implementation day on May 25, 2018. She also accepted it will be a challenge for both the regulator and organisations to comply with the more stringent data rules while running their day-to-day activities.
Speaking at 2017 DataIQ 100, Denham said: “It’s business as usual, but we have to get ready for massive change as a regulator. You as businesses are looking at this too, and for me it feels a lot like changing the tyre on a moving car. So we really have a lot to do.”
Denham has certainly been doing the rounds of late; as well as speaking at the DataIQ event, she fronted a joint charity event as well as the annual DMA Data Protection Conference, where she pledged that her office will “bang the drum” to ensure the UK has free movement of data with other countries after Brexit.
She concluded: “If I could give you just one piece of advice today, it would be not to put this off. The GDPR is happening. It will mean changes to how you do things. And the fourteen months until the law’s implemented will go quicker than you think.
“I am committed to do everything I can to improve the state of trust that citizens and consumers have in the use of their data. Those of you here today also have an important role to play – together we can build a better system.”