By Gail Crawford and Danielle van der Merwe
Following the commencement of the Brexit negotiations earlier this week, the Queen announced in her speech on Wednesday a new law that will “ensure the United Kingdom retains its world-class regime protecting personal data”.
This bill will replace the current Data Protection Act 1998 in the UK. One of the bill’s main reported benefits is the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (and the new directive applying to law enforcement data processing), meeting the UK’s obligations while it remains an EU Member State. Crucially, the intention is for the bill to help put the UK in the best position to maintain its ability to share data with other EU Member States, and internationally after the UK leaves Europe.