this to have the ICO as a mechanism to promote citizen’s data rights and data literacy.”
Conflict
Jess Pembroke, recently appointed Head of Data Protection at Naomi Korn Associates, said: “This Consultation very much puts the needs of business and economic growth at its heart. Data is a valuable commodity, so there can be conflict where the benefit for the business isn’t necessarily in the best interests of the data subjects. I feel very nervous about the proposal to remove the legal requirement to designate a Data Protection Officer (DPO). “The introduction of the General
Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and specifically this requirement was the first time the role of a DPO has been recog- nised for its specialist knowledge and elevated to a senior enough level to make significant impact by helping navigate and implement the complex data pro- tection principles. This is fundamental for librarians and information specialists who have been tasked with the responsi- bility of being their organisation’s DPO. A DPO is also often tasked with giving an ethical as well as commercial steer. Without the need for a DPO being clearly defined in law, I fear the responsibilities
and subsequently the impact of a DPO could be diluted. These changes risk the DPO role losing its status to the detriment of data subjects and organisational legal compliance.”
High standards
The Information Commissioner’s Office published a response to the DCMS consul- tation and in its foreword, outgoing CEO Elizabeth Denham said she supported “the intention of the proposals to make innovation easier for organisations,” adding that “innovation is enabled, not threatened, by high data protection standards”. Despite leaning towards business, legal experts representing industry also say attempts to rebalance UK GDPR towards business innovation may be risky. But they don’t see the risk coming from undermining data security, but from inadvertently raising new barriers to trade. In a comment David Varney from law firm Burges Salmon criticised the existing regime as a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach that particularly burdens smaller organisations, but he said “any significant movement away from the EU’s GDPR regime may imperil the UK’s adequacy decision and data flows with Europe, so any changes to the UK data protection regime will need to strike a balance...”
Claire Edwards, a Partner at law firm
Pinsent Mason, also praised the pro-busi- ness direction of the proposals but said: “Global businesses may find the UK’s move to a privacy management system of accountability of limited benefit given their need in parallel to continue to com- ply with the EU GDPR full accountability framework.”
Whether or not the voice of the informa- tion profession is heard by the government, the EU still provides a safety net – or barrier – and appears to be why New Zealand’s privacy commissioner, John Edwards, is the Government’s preferred choice as the UK’s new Information Commissioner. The Government said: “He will be able to help the UK achieve its aims of maintaining equivalence with the EU’s data standards, so personal data can continue to flow freely, while developing a new pro-growth approach to data law.” The proposals also include changes to the ICO’s constitution. In her foreword to the ICO’s response to the consulta- tion, Elizabeth Denham expressed some concern saying: “The current proposals for the Secretary of State to approve ICO guidance and to appoint the CEO do not sufficiently safeguard this independence. I urge Government to reconsider these proposals to ensure the independence of the regulator is preserved.” IP
October-November 2021
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 17
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