The UK government has proposed new data laws that are designed to boost economic growth and innovation, in addition to clamp down on nuisance calls and minimise cookie pop-ups online.
The Data Reform Bill, published after a consultation period, is designed to update the UK’s existing data rules, post Brexit.
It is designed to unlock organisations’ ability to use data more “dynamically,” with the government arguing that the EU’s GDPR is holding back innovative use of data in the digital age.
The bill argued that there is currently an over-reliance on ‘box-ticking’ across organisations to obtain consent from individuals to process their personal data to avoid non-compliance. Instead, the government wants to move to a risk-based approach, so that the data protection roles will differ depending on the relative risk.
Organisations will still be required to have a data privacy program, but they will have more flexibility to determine how they meet data protection standards now.
The new Bill also sets out plans, building on the existing Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations (PECR), to increase fines for nuisance texts and calls. The maximum fine for companies contacting people for marketing purposes without consent will rise from £500,000 to £17.5m or 4% of global turnover, whichever is higher.
The law aims to reduce the number of ‘user consent’ pop-ups and banners that internet users are forced to click on while visiting websites. Organisations will be able to reduce the number of boxes they use and it will be easier for internet users to set an overall approach to choose how their data is collected online. Currently, users have to opt-in to cookie collection every time they visit a new site, which collects data about their activity.
The government added that it would work with the indust ..
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