Government Guidance on Data Protection in a ‘No-deal’ Scenario

September 12, 2018

The guidance, entitled ‘Data
protection if there’s no Brexit deal
’ on a data protection ‘in the unlikely
event’ seeks to reassure by emphasising that the same level of data protection will
apply after 29 March. Few SCL members or readers of this website will be reassured.
The guidance States:

‘the European Commission has stated that if it deems the UK’s
level of personal data protection essentially equivalent to that of the EU, it
would make an adequacy decision allowing the transfer of personal data to the
UK without restrictions. While we have made it clear we are ready to begin
preliminary discussions on an adequacy assessment now, the European Commission
has not yet indicated a timetable for this and have stated that the decision on
adequacy cannot be taken until we are a third country.

In the absence of an adequacy decision, the guidance goes on
to suggest the use of standard contractual clauses.’