The Justice Select Committee is urging Brussels to ‘go back to the drawing board’ over its proposed changes to European data laws, in an official response which has been welcomed by the DMA.
The response, the latest twist in the long-running EU data law saga, now sits with the European Scrutiny Committee, which scrutinises draft EU legislation on behalf of the House of Commons.
There has been widescale support for the marketing industry’s stance virtually since the proposals were revealed back in January. Led by the DMA, other marketing trade groups – including ISBA and the IPA – have expressed their concerns over how the regulations would affect activity. The CBI has also been critical about the plans, which the DMA estimates could cost the UK economy more than £47bn.
By September, the outgoing Justice Minister Lord McNally told the Select Committee that the Government was quietly confident it will succeed in watering down the “heavy-handed” elements of the directive. And, just last week, his successor Helen Grant and Culture Minister Ed Vaizey pledged to work with the marketing industry to combat the worst excesses of the draft.
Chief among the marketing industry’s concerns are requirements for gaining 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’. The report also cites specific issues that the DMA raised in the inquiry with regards to data breach notifications.
Information Commissioner Christopher Graham and chairman of the Justice Select Committee Sir Alan Beith MP both state that the draft regulation is unworkable because it is too over-prescriptive.
Commenting on the recommendations Caroline Roberts, director of public affairs for the DMA, said: “We’re pleased that the Justice Select Committee has taken on board the many concerns that businesses have about the draft regulation and recognises that as it stands the regulation is not fit for purpose. Data protection legislation needs to be updated to reflect the realities of today’s digital economy. However, the draft regulation would impose a serious burden on businesses without offering any meaningful protection to consumers’ right to data privacy.
“We hope that EU lawmakers go back to the drawing board and create a regulation that strikes the right balance in protecting the data privacy rights of individuals when sharing their information with businesses. Failure to do so would have terrible consequences for UK plc.”
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