Monthly Archives: August 2017

EU & UK Data Protection Post Brexit

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GDPR is a key component of the Government’s data protection paper released yesterday, relating to how a partnership between the UK and the EU could be structured in relation to the ‘exchange and protection’ of personal data post Brexit.

Regardless of Brexit, the UK intends to continue to play a leading global role in promoting data protection standards, and plans to work side by side with the EU and other global partners to protect:

  • individuals’ rights to privacy and control over their own data
  • the ability of individuals, companies and other organisations to share data to create services valued by consumers
  • the ability of law enforcement bodies to protect citizens from crime and terrorism

The government paper restates that the UK’s new Data Protection Bill (definitely needed – current legislation is now some 20 years old) will include not only the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), but also the Data Protection Directive (DPD) which relates to personal data being processed for law enforcement purposes.

This means that, when we leave the EU, both its and our own UK data protection law will be aligned.   This is important because it provides the UK with a sound base from which to achieve “adequacy status” to avoid the detrimental economic impact of any disruption in cross-border data flows.

What is Adequacy Status?

Adequacy

It is likely that the UK will require adequacy status in order for data to flow freely between UK and EEA

Each EEA country is allowed to transfer personal data freely, because all states have to comply with GDPR.

For countries that are not members of the EEA (and it is likely that the UK will fall into this category post-Brexit), the EU Commission may decide that a country’s data protection framework is “adequate”.  In these cases, data may also flow freely between EEA members and “adequate” third party countries – for example, Switzerland, Isle of Man, New Zealand.

Adequacy is probably the simplest method of achieving the free flow of data between the EU and UK post Brexit.  Other methods are available, but they are significantly more onerous in time, paperwork and cost for organisations.

How to achieve Adequacy Status

Any third country (eg UK) can request that the Commission considers them for an adequacy decision.  The Commission may then, if it wishes, assess the nature of that country’s data protection rules, enforcement, supervision and practices to satisfy themselves that they are sufficient to provide an adequate level of protection – ie “essentially equivalent” to those applied in the EU.

In order to achieve adequacy post Brexit, the UK will need to be compliant, not only with EU data protection law, but also with wider global data protection standards.  As the UK’s data protection law fully implements the EU’s GDPR and DPD, the government hopes “to agree, early in the process, to mutually recognise each other’s data protection frameworks as a basis for the continue free flows of data between the EU (and other EU adequate countries) and the UK from the point of exit”.

  • GDPR will, in any case, continue to apply to any UK businesses offering goods or services to individuals within the EEA.
  • The UK intends to remain a safe destination for personal data with some of the strongest data protection standards in the world
  • The ICO may continue to play an active role in promoting understanding of the regulatory challenges faced both by organisations and individuals; being involved in future EU regulatory discussion;  and sharing its expertise with other EU Data Protection Authorities.

It’s worth noting that the Government paper makes it quite plain that both sides will benefit from such an arrangement.  The paper suggests that (based on various reports) around 43% of all large EU digital companies are started in the UK, and that 75% of the UK’s cross-border data flows are with EU countries.  The implication is that any disruption in cross-border data flows could harm the economies of both parties.

Clearly building a new relationship is a key element of the Brexit negotiations.  And adequacy is a vital part of that relationship.

Victoria Tuffill    25th August, 2017

Data Compliant advises on GDPR compliance. If you’d like more informaiton, please call 01787 277742 or email dc@datacompliant.co.uk

Data Compliant GDPR panic

GDPR – panic … or not?

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myth or fact

GDPR – don’t get bogged down by fear-mongering and myth

GDPR is beset with myth, rumour, and so-called experts. The amount of confusion and misinformation provided is incredibly detrimental. And this is largely because many organisations and individuals who are trying to promote their services are using fear tactics to do so.

But they’re missing the point.

We have a Data Protection Act currently in place, and Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations to support it.  Any organisation which is ignoring the current data protection legislation has every reason to panic about GDPR. Ignorance is no excuse.  And they won’t be able to get away with ignoring GDPR willfully just because they consider data protection an inconvenient restriction preventing them taking unethical actions to make more money.

On the other hand, organisations who conform to the current legislation have a head-start when addressing how to comply with the new regulation.

GDPR – a simple summary

At its simplest, GDPR is a long-overdue evolution which is primarily about all organisations (whether data controllers or data processors):

  1. putting the individual first
  2. being held accountable for protecting that individual’s data

At the same time, GDPR addresses the vast changes to the data landscape since the original data protection legislation of the 1990s:

  • it takes account of technological advances – bear in mind, there was barely an internet in the early ’90s!
  • it seeks to protect EU citizens from  misuse of their personal data wherever that data is processed
  • it addresses (at least in part) the disparity in data protection legislation throughout the EU and its members

GDPR increases both compliance obligations on the part of organisations, and enforcement powers on the part of the regulator.

Compliance Obligations:  The principle of Accountability puts a heavy administrative burden on data controllers and data processors.  Robust record-keeping in relation to all data processing is essential; evidenced decisions around data processing will be critical.

Enforcement Powers:  Yes, there are massive fines for non-compliance.  And yes, they will go up to £20,000,000 or 4% of global turnover.  But is that really the key headline?

GDPR’s Key Message:  Put the Individual First

Rights human rights

As GDPR comes closer, individuals are going to become increasingly aware of their rights – new and old

All organisations who process personal data need to understand that individuals must be treated fairly, and have, under GDPR, greater rights than before.  This means that organisations need to be transparent about their data processing activity, and take full responsibility for protecting the personal or personally identifiable data they process.

What does that mean in practice?

  • Tell the individuals what you intend to do with their data – and make it absolutely plain what you mean
  • Explain that there’s a value exchange – by all means help them understand the benefits to providing the data and allowing the processing – but don’t tell lies, and don’t mislead them
  • If you don’t want to tell them what you’re doing … you probably shouldn’t be doing it
  • If you need their consent, make sure you obtain it fairly, with simple messaging and utter clarity around precisely what it is to which they are consenting
  • Tell them all their rights (including the right to withdraw consent; to object to processing where relevant; to be provided with all the information you hold about them, to be forgotten, etc)
  • Always balance your rights as an organisation against their rights as an individual

Look out for your Reputation

shame

Never underestimate the reputational damage caused by a data breach

The Information Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, states clearly that, while the ICO has heavy-weight power to levy massive fines, “we intend to use those powers proportionately and judiciously”.  So the ICO may issue warnings, reprimands, corrective orders and fines, but that could be the least of your worries.

Something that tends to be overlooked when talking about penalties of non-compliance is reputational damage.  All the ICO’s sanctions (from warnings to fines) are published on the ICO website.  And the press loves nothing more than a nice, juicy data breach.

So even if no fine is levied, reputations will suffer.  At worst, customers will be lost.  Shareholders will lose confidence.  Revenues will decline.  Board members will lose their jobs.  And, to quote Denham again, “You can’t insure against that.”

Victoria Tuffill     18th August 2017

Data Compliant advises on GDPR compliance – if you’d like more information, please call 01787 277742 or email dc@datacompliant.co.uk

 

Data Protection Weekly Round-up: New Data Protection Bill; the impact of Brexit; £150k fines for failure to apply TPS

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This week there’s been much in the media about the UK’s upcoming new Data Protection Bill.  Unfortunately some of the reporting has been unclear, providing very woolly information on some of the new rights of individuals, and the circumstances they do – or do not – apply.  Nonetheless, the main story is that the Data Protection Act will be replaced and that it will include the requirements of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

In other news, the ICO has taken further action against companies who fail to follow the current Data Protection Act and PECR regulations.  This week the spotlight falls on companies who fail to screen their call lists against TPS.  This illegal behaviour has resulted in fines of £150,000 for the week.

Data Protection Bill set to be read out in Parliament in September

Queen

As promised in the Queen’s Speech, GDPR will become part of the UK’s new data protection law. The process begins next month  in Parliament.

The government has said that it plans to give the Data Protection Bill, announced in the Queen’s speech in June, an airing in Parliament at some point next month. This has been confirmed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (which continues to be officially abbreviated as DCMS, despite the recent addition of ‘Digital’).

The new Bill will replace the existing Data Protection Act 1998 and one of its chief aims is to implement the EU-wide General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).  The UK must adhere to GDPR during its time as a member state and almost certainly beyond – albeit under different legal provisions. The manner in which this EU initiative could apply in the UK after a finalised Brexit is discussed in the next story.

This first reading of the Bill next month is largely a formality. It gives lawmakers, consultants and interested parties a chance to inform themselves and gather the information they need before a second reading takes place, during which a parliamentary debate is properly staged.

Last month, Germany became the first EU member state to approve its data protection legislation meeting the requirements of GDPR – the German Federal Data Protection Act (‘Bundesdatenschutzgesetz‘).

House of Lords publishes a report on the EU data protection package

Responding to the government’s plans outlined in a White Paper on The United Kingdom’s exit from and new partnership with the European Union, the House of Lords has reviewed various options regarding the data protection policy aspect of this new relationship in a report published on 18th July.

Since the government has stated that it wants to “maintain unhindered and uninterrupted data flows with the EU post-Brexit,” the House of Lords has assessed this commitment with a view to providing a more detailed set of practical objectives.

EU

For the UK to continue trading with EU citizens post-Brexit, GDPR or its equivalent will  need to apply.

The report summarises that the UK has two feasible options if it wants to continue uninterrupted data flow with the EU, which is now a lynchpin in our service-driven economy. There will be a transitional period of adopting the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Police and Criminal Justice Directive (PCJ) while the UK remains an EU Member State, regulations which the government plans to implement with the aforementioned new Data Protection Bill. But the report states that after Brexit, the UK will either have to pursue an ‘adequacy decision’ from the European Commission, “certifying that [the UK] provides a standard of protection which is ‘essentially equivalent’ to EU data protection standards,” or else individual data controllers will have to implement their own data protection safeguards, which would “include tools such as Standard Contractual Clauses, and Binding Corporate Rules.”

The report favours the former, that is, adequacy decisions conferred to the UK as a third state in its relation to the EU, provided under Articles 45 and 36 of the GDPR and PCJ respectively. The report states that the Lords were “persuaded by the Information Commissioner’s view that the UK is so heavily integrated with the EU – three quarters of the UK’s cross-border data flows are with EU countries – that it would be difficult for the UK to get by without an adequacy arrangement.”

The report concludes that there is no prospect of a clean break, since the UK will have to continue to update its domestic data protection policies to remain aligned to the standards of EU data protection in the event of changing regulations – that is, if the UK wants the seamless transfer of data with EU countries that is regarded as crucial to the digital economy and the UK’s competitive position in the modern globalised market.

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) levies £150,000 of fines for nuisance calls

The ICO has issued official warnings, “reminding companies making direct marketing calls that people registered with the Telephone Preference Service are ‘off-limits,’” after two Bradford-based firms were fined a total of £150,000 for flouting this preference.

fined 150000
Calling consumers without consent is illegal unless you run the files against TPS.

HPAS Ltd (t/a Safestyle UK) and Laura Anderson Ltd (t/a Virgo Home Improvements) have been fined £70,000 and £80,000 respectively for making illegal nuisance calls to people on the TPS register. Both firms have been issued enforcement notices and will face court action if the practice continues.

The ICO received 264 complaints about Virgo over 20 months (despite repeated warnings and formal monitoring), and 440 complaints about the latter in 19 months.  Virgo Home Improvements had already been fined £33,000 just over a year ago, bringing their total fines for making nuisance calls up to £113,000.

One complaint about Safestyle quoted by the ICO read, “this harassment has been going on for over five years now. I want it to stop.” Members of the public are becoming increasingly aware of data protection policy, and the prospect of new legislation that will crack down on aggravating breaches such as these will be welcomed by many.

Written by Harry Smithson, 8th August 2017

http://www.datacompliant.co.uk