Managing Data with Brexit

Useful thoughts, How will the flow of data change in new regulatory environments.

How to Manage Your Data When Expecting Brexit
By Ralph O'Brien in Datanami

The implications of a possible Brexit on privacy and compliance-related statutes, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Privacy Shield, and the Data Protection Act of 2018 (DPA) are vast. These regulations govern the handling and transfer of consumers’ private data between entities in the EU, UK, and the rest of the world. If the landscape of the European Union changes, so, too, do the jurisdictions of these regulations.

In the wake of Brexit, data transfer relationships will require mending. Taking data that belongs to people in the UK and transferring it to the EU will still be an acceptable transfer. If the UK leaves the EU and loses its stature as a member state, the country will cease to be a trusted party and deemed inadequate for data transfers from the EU to the UK.

In order to reopen the flow of data westward across the English Channel, the EU and UK will have to establish a new data transfer agreement, with the European Commission reviewing the privacy laws of the UK and deem them adequate for data transfers. Similarly, Privacy Shield, which currently regulates data transfers between the EU and U.S., will no longer cover instances when companies transfer data from the UK to the U.S. (as it is an EU/U.S. arrangement!) though it is understood the UK and U.S. will be making amendments to enable this in the near future.   .... "