After having spent a number of hours responding to the UK Government’s ‘Data: A New Direction’ consultation, here is some more information about the current proposals in the consultation document, which of course may or may not make it to the final list of changes. No matter what our job role is, it may significantly affect us all:
- A new lawful ground of ‘research’ for processing personal data with removal of the requirement to inform data subjects if their personal data, once collected, will be used for broader areas of scientific research.
- Changes to allow personal data to be processed for similar (or not?) purpose by additional data controllers with informing the data subject
- For some examples of legitimate interests, remove the requirement for a balancing test (more like ‘tick the box’)
- Different treatment of data protection in the AI context, in relation to the principle of fairness
- Definition of anonymous data to be extended to include personal data where re-identification would require unreasonable time, effort or resources
- Move from prescriptive requirements to the need to ‘develop and implement a risk-based privacy management programme’.
- Remove the requirement for a mandatory Data Protection Officer, in some circumstances
- Remove the requirement for organisations to undertake DPIA’s
- Remove the requirement for keeping records of processing activities (RoPA or Information Audit)
- Voluntary reporting of some data breaches
- Allow a ‘nominal’ charge to be made for processing subject access requests
- Allow political campaigning to be outside PECR’s rules
- Add a duty for the ICO to have regard to economic growth, innovation, competition, public safety and the government’s wide international priorities when discharging its functions
- Add a duty for the ICO to have regard to a statement of strategic priorities, periodically prepared by the Secretary of State for DCMS
If you would like to see the consultation document and how to respond, the gov.uk link is https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/data-a-new-direction, and you have until 19th November to submit your response.
If you do decide to submit a response, just be warned that the online tool does not send you a copy of your responses, but you can email datareformconsultation@dcms.gov.uk and ask for a copy.