Data regulation rules to be debated by UK parliament

The UK parliament will debate its new Data Protection and Digital Information Bill this week which – if passed – will see the limitation of cookie pop-up ads and stricter data privacy rules.

The new bill will also look at tackling nuisance calls, with maximum fines increasing from £500,000 to either £1.75 million or up to a 4% of global turnover, based on whichever is greater.

The rules set will also grant businesses greater flexibility in order to protect personal data while also tasking them to maintain high data protection standards themselves.

This would mean that organisations have to implement “privacy management programmes” and organisations large and small will need to take better accountability over their data privacy.

According to the Westminster, the new bill will add £4.7 billion to the UK economy over the next ten years.

The new regulations for consenting to data will replace the ones made by EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as the government parts with the EU post-Brexit.

In its place, government officials will work alongside the Information Commissioner’s Office and industry to create new ways for the general public to consent to their data tracking and cookie preferences.

Data minister Julia Lopez is expected to tell Parliament: “This Bill will maintain the high standards of data protection that British people rightly expect.”

Adding: But it will also help the people who are using our data to make our lives healthier, safer, and more prosperous. That’s because we’ve co-designed it with those people, to ensure that our regulation reflects the way real people live their lives and run their businesses.”

Sridhar Iyengar, managing director of software firm Zoho Europe said: “Businesses and their customers continue to be more conscious and concerned about data privacy in what is rightly described as the data-driven era we are living in.”

“It should be a priority for businesses and software vendors to educate the market on how businesses can both safeguard themselves and their customers effectively when it comes to data. This education, coupled with new regulation and industry guidance will ultimately help to enhance customer experience and trust,” Iyengar added.