Privacy campaigners have signalled there will be no easy ride for the Labour Government’s proposed Digital Information & Smart Data Bill, warning that certain elements could erode consumers’ data rights and wreck the neutrality of the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.
The new Bill, announced yesterday in the King’s Speech, is designed to bring parts of the now defunct Data Protection & Digital Information Bill back to life after it failed to make the cut before the general election.
Details of the new Bill are sketchy at best, with few details on how it will affect marketers, but the Open Rights Group claims that while the intention seems to be to leave out the pointless and controversial changes to UK data protection law, “the execution may contradict these progresses”.
In a blog post, the ORG’s legal and policy officer, Mariano delli Santi, said: “Firstly, the King Speech’s briefing does announce changes that will be able researchers ‘to ask for broad consent for areas of scientific research, and allow legitimate researchers doing scientific research in commercial settings to make equal use of our data regime’.
“These seem to be taken straight out of the previous version of the DPDI Bill, a rather surprising move in light of the widespread criticism of the scientific community against the Bill.
“Secondly, the new Bill would also include a reform of the governance structure of the ICO, ‘accompanied by targeted reforms to some data laws that will maintain high standards of protection but where there is currently a lack of clarity impeding the safe development and deployment of some new technologies’.”
Delli Santi added: “These last bits are the most worrisome: while the brief only mentions the adoption of a more modern regulatory structure, with a CEO, board and chair, proposals in the DPDI Bill were bundling these changes to several clauses that would have undermined the independence of the ICO, watered down its statutory objectives, and reduced its accountability.”
The ORG argues there are more urgent changes that the ICO needs, such as the transfer of its appointment to Parliament, the implementation of collective redress mechanisms, and a reform of Section 166 of the UK DPA to allow substantive scrutiny of ICO enforcement decisions by the Information Tribunal.
Likewise, the organisation insists claims that UK data protection law needs be clarified in order to allow the deployment of new technology “echoes very dubious arguments made corporate lobbyists over the past four years, and shows the legacy of the post-Brexit deregulatory agenda”.
Delli Santi concluded: “Technological innovation and adoption cannot be successfully promoted by lowering regulatory standards, disempowering individuals and excluding our agency and dignity from the equation.
“Doing so would also undermine the same plans to implement a digital identity system or promote data sharing of smart data: the public will not trust a Government and data sharing initiatives if they are accompanied by less rights, accountability and redress.”
Industry body the DMA has welcomed the proposals and said it is looking forward to working with the Government to “ensure the critical reforms to data protection legislation that are important to our members will become part of the new Bill”.
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