UK Government Plans to Scrap GDPR Legislation
Michelle Donelan, the new Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), has confirmed the Government intends to replace GDPR legislation with a simplified data protection system.
During her speech at the Conservative Party Conference, Ms Donelan suggested that the 'bureaucratic nature' of the UK GDPR limits the potential growth of UK businesses. She cited research conducted by Oxford University, which she said found that GDPR has caused an 8% loss of profits to businesses. In addition, a recent DCMS survey found that 50% of businesses agree that the current GDPR scheme has caused workforces to be excessively cautious in handling data.
Ms Donelan has claimed that the new legislation would be 'co-designed' with businesses and that the Government will look to countries like Israel, Japan, South Korea, Canada and New Zealand for inspiration.
It is likely that this new announcement will further delay (or potentially lead to the withdrawal of) the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill. In the meantime, the current GDPR legislation remains in place and we await further detail of the Government's plans.
