Information Commissioner – Written Evidence (JTN0025)
- The Information Commissioner has responsibility in the UK for promoting and enforcing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR), amongst others.
- The Commissioner is independent from government and upholds information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals. The Commissioner does this by providing guidance to individuals and organisations and taking appropriate action where the law is broken.
Introduction
- The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) welcomes this opportunity to respond to the House of Lords EU International Agreements Sub-Committee (IAC)’s call for evidence in relation to the its inquiry into the ongoing UK-Japan trade negotiations, on behalf of the Commissioner. As the regulator of data protection law in the UK, the ICO is particularly interested in the “Digital goods and services” section of the Call for Evidence.
- The ICO welcomes and supports the Government’s stated intention to maintain the UK’s high standards of data protection and protection against online harms as part of its ambition to “promote a world leading eco-system for digital trade that supports businesses of all sizes across the UK”.
Specific questions
Question 19. How might negotiated digital trade provisions serve as enablers for businesses in the UK? What provisions would bring the most benefit and so should be the highest priority in this area?
- The ICO believes that provisions which promote high standards and encourage interoperability between the UK data protection legal framework and that of Japan (or any other country with which the UK is negotiating a trade deal) would be of benefit to UK businesses.
- Consistency and interoperability across different regulatory regimes are of great importance to businesses operating in multiple jurisdictions, as this allows them to consolidate their approach and thereby reduce costs and risk. This will enhance greater trust in digital data flows, which can support collaborative and innovative growth in services such as cloud computing and AI.
- It can also support greater regulatory co-operation between regulators. The ICO already engages with the Personal Information Protection Commission (PPC) in Japan, our counterpart regulator, and we look forward to opportunities to strengthen our collaboration, including on cross border enforcement when appropriate.
Question 20. What might be the trade-offs for the UK in agreeing ambitious digital trade provisions with Japan? How might the UK’s data protection standards and provisions for protecting users from online harms be affected by any deal?
- The digital economy relies on global data flows: we have seen a transformation in the volume of the personal data flows around the world and their economic value. Although there is an inherent challenge for the Government to balance the ability to realise the economic benefits of personal data whilst also protecting citizens’ privacy, we would stress that the protection of citizens’ privacy and exploiting the economic potential of data flows are not in opposition.
- To operate effectively, the international digital economy relies on trust: trust between governments that data being transferred to another jurisdiction will be given an appropriate level of protection, and the trust of the individuals who use the services that those data flows enable. If individuals do not have confidence that their data will be protected, they may be discouraged from using those services. It is therefore of vital importance to trust in the digital economy that the high standards of data protection that UK personal data enjoys, and which travel with that data when it is transferred abroad, are not compromised.
- It is also important to recognise that Japan recently achieved status as an adequate country under the EU data protection system and there is already an effective data protection regime in place in Japan.
- The ICO therefore does not believe that there is a “trade-off” between ambitious digital trade provisions and sensible regulation that provides high standards of privacy and data protection. Rather, provisions that promote high standards of privacy and data protection help to promote trust in the digital economy, and should be considered a vital component in achieving the UK’s digital trade ambitions with Japan.
1 September 2020