On 10 September 2021 the government announced 'Data: a new direction', a consultation on
reforms to data protection law in the UK. The consultation closes
on 19 November 2021.
The headline aim of the proposals is to create an ambitious,
pro-growth and innovation-friendly data protection regime that
underpins the trustworthy use of data. The scale of the proposals
and the government's ambition becomes clear from the 146-page
consultation document, which is packed full of proposed changes to
the UK General Data Protection Regulation, Data Protection Act 2018
and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003,
plus dozens of questions for consultees.
The changes are numerous, wide-ranging and far-reaching, and
often very bold – departing from what are now fundamental
elements of the existing UK legislation and the EU GDPR upon which
it was originally based. The changes are clearly big and bold
enough to raise a serious question as to whether the EU
