The Government has pledged to work with the advertising industry to protect the UK economy against potentially damaging elements of the new EU data regulations.
In a ministerial summit hosted by the Advertising Association and chaired by DMA chairman Scott Logie, Justice Minister Helen Grant and Culture Minister Ed Vaizey acknowledged the potential dangers of the draft laws.
Having conceded that the proposed legislation falls short of the EU’s stated aim of enhancing protection of individuals’ data privacy rights, both agreed to engage with industry representatives to ensure that any rule changes work for both consumers and business.
The meeting was called for organisations representing businesses that use data for targeted marketing and sales purposes to register their concerns with ministers about the EU’s draft Data Protection Regulation, which will replace the existing Data Protection Directive.
The organisations present, including the DMA, the IAB, the IPA and ISBA, shared their agreement for the need for effective new data laws fit for the digital age.
However, they cited proposed legislative changes – including requiring explicit consent for the processing of most data, redefining personal information to include cookies and IP addresses, and introducing a new ‘right to be forgotten’ – as being a threat to the viability data-driven Internet economy.
Evidence presented included research published by the DMA in August, which estimated that the draft Regulation in its current form could cost UK businesses an estimated £47bn in lost sales and additional regulatory costs.
Justice Minister Grant said: “As technology advances, data protection must keep up but European legislators must balance new rules against the risk of undermining UK businesses. Governments, regulators and industry should be co-operating on proportionate rules to reassure and protect consumers.”
Culture Minister Ed Vaizey said: “Britain’s creative industries and the strength of its online economy are the envy of Europe. We must find a way to protect consumers which doesn’t undermine innovation, so that we can continue to drive growth in some of the UK’s most valuable sectors.”
Logie added: “While the UK remains mired in a protracted recession, the creative industries are among the few that are performing strongly, with direct marketing in particular making an outstanding contribution to the UK economy.
“We fully appreciate the need for data protection rules to be in place to build consumer trust in sharing their information with companies, but getting this balance wrong will have terrible financial consequences to UK plc.”
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