Lords on alert over EU deal as Data Bill concerns grow

The House of Lords has rifled off a stern warning to ministers over the new data reforms, insisting the changes could jeopardise the EU data adequacy agreement – estimated to be worth up to £161bn a year to the economy – amid fresh claims that the proposals will also “set the UK years behind our international partners” on data rights.

While the marketing and publishing industries have backed the new Data (Use & Access) Bill, the cross-party House of Lords European Affairs Committee is concerned about how the legislation will go down in Brussels.

The adequacy decision, which was granted to the UK in June 2021, allows the free flow of personal data to and from the UK without additional safeguards post-Brexit.

The move followed dire warnings of the consequences for UK businesses if a deal had not been signed, with the CBI claiming the UK’s £240bn data economy would fall off a cliff edge, while the Government’s own figures put the cost at £161bn a year back in 2020. The current agreement will expire in June 2025.

Now, the Lords committee has written a letter to digital secretary Peter Kyle raising the issue with the Government, urging them to enter into early talks with the European Commission to ensure the UK can maintain its deal.

The letter warns that losing EU data adequacy would increase costs and administrative burdens for the private and public sector, and could make the UK a less-attractive location for businesses because it would lose its free data movement with its closest market.

The missive states: “The Government should pursue data protection policies that are aimed at retaining the UK’s data adequacy status with the EU, under both the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Law Enforcement Directive (LED).

“Securing adequacy renewal decisions from the European Commission in the first half of 2025 should be the Government’s immediate data protection policy priority.”

The letter also encourages the Government to take this opportunity to strengthen its international reputation as a “trusted and responsible data bridge”, concluding: “The Government should be fully engaged in the international debate about future data protection arrangements with the aim of ensuring that the outcome serves UK interests, in enabling digital innovation, and rights and protections the public expect to be in place.”

Meanwhile, privacy organisation Big Brother Watch has reinforced concerns raised by Open Rights Group over the proposals.

The group’s legal and policy officer, Susannah Copson, said: “The Government’s new Data Bill threatens to set the UK years behind our international partners when it comes to safeguarding against the threats of new and emerging technologies such as AI.

“Our data protection laws are among the few legal protections we have against these threats, yet this Bill waters them down by simultaneously eroding privacy protections and restricting peoples’ control over their own data. Meanwhile, advancing with a digital ID framework with serious implications for privacy that lacks a legal right to opt-out poses a serious threat to individual autonomy and consent.

“As the Bill makes its way through Parliament, the Government must listen to the warnings of rights campaigners and amend the Bill to protect the public’s privacy rights.”