News

Latest Update 23rd May (pm):

Lord Sikka reports on X at 4:12pm:
Because of the general election the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill passed by the Commons has fallen in the Lords.
Govt was seeking 24/7 powers to snoop on the bank accounts of recipients of benefits and state pension.
Govt avoided defeat in the Lords by giving in.

It is over for now...it is highly unlikely that a new administration (if there is one) will adopt this legislation. We will undoubtedly have new data protection laws coming at some point, but let's hope that they ease data protection compliance without reducing the safeguards for data subjects rights - especially in the age of AI. 

Original post 22nd May:

With an election called for July 4th, we have to ask what this means for the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill.

You may expect that with a period of purdah (pre-election) starting, then there will be no progress, and therefore no new Act.

The status of the Bill is currently at the Report Stage in the Lords - meaning that it gets a final reading in the Lords before going back to the Commons.  So what now?

There are three likely scenarios.

1) The Bill is rushed through in the "wash-up" period prior to the dissolution of Parliament. 
This could just about happen as the Bill is pretty close to being passed - however it isn't clear where it sits in priorities and we need to see what Bills are presented to Parliament prior to dissolution - which is likely to be Friday 30th May. That leaves (as of time of writing) 6 working days for Parliament to conclude it's business, which is likely to be rather less controversial elements around finance etc. 

The Bill could (maybe) be rushed through in that time, but it is unlikely as it is still in the House of Lords and requires a third reading before moving back to the Commons. It would require a lot of effort to finalise.

And if it was rushed through, this is damaging with even less scrutiny of the Bill and any amendments and compromises that may be agreed at the last minute.

However, as one of the new powers within the Bill permits a political party to use your data far more freely, there is a clear advantage to the Bill being passed for those passing it. The passing of a Bill that gets rid of an EU regulation in GPDR would also be an opportunity to campaign about it- providing a concrete example of "taking back control".

2) The Bill is passed after the election. Even if the current opposition party are elected, they haven't (other than in the House of Lords) demonstrated any real opposition to the Bill's progress to date, though undoubtedly have greater priorities as an incoming government. It is possible, though unlikely, that the Bill be passed by the new Parliament. If this were the case, I would expect there to be substantive re-writing of the Bill and for significant delay. DPaDI (No3), perhaps?

3) The Bill is scrapped. This is potentially more likely than option 2 if the Bill is not passed prior to dissolution. There are valid reasons to change some aspects of our data protection law, but the current Bill is in our opinion, not a good way forward.

At Data Protection Education we are hoping for the Bill to be scrapped and a more comprehensive review and new Bill at some point in the future that addresses AI as well as supports data rights rather than removes them.

Updates 23 May 2024 am:

From Parliament schedule "Parliament will be prorogued at the conclusion of business on Friday 24 May. Parliament will then be dissolved on Thursday 30 May ahead of the general election on Thursday 4 July. Neither the House of Lords nor its committees will then meet until after the election."

So two days to conclude business. Growing more unlikely considering other Bills the government will want to get through...but DPDI isn't dead until it's dead.

-----------------

There are currently 16 active government Bills in various stages.

Only two are nearer completion than the DPDI Bill. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (consideration of amendments) and the Victims and Prisoners Bill (HoL 3rd reading). Eight Bills are at the HoL report stage, including DPDI.

Today's business in the commons has been as published so far - let's see what is announced in the Business of the House after 11am - but the order paper makes it clear that Government business will take precedence - it might all be happening tomorrow, unless the afternoon's schedule is changed.

-----------------


James England
Director
Data Protection Education Ltd.