Some Provisions of UK Data Bill Need More Clarity, ICO Says
Several parts of the U.K. Data (Use and Access) legislation (DUA) require further clarification from the government, Information Commissioner John Edwards told the House of Commons Monday. DUA was introduced in Parliament last October and has now completed its passage through the Lords, "where it has been subject to a number of amendments and significant debate," he said.
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Several amendments fall within the provision on duties to protect children, Edwards added. During the Lords stage, the bill was amended to place further duties on the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), including to consider that "children merit special protection with regard to their personal data." A government amendment to the provision on data protection by design and default calls for data controllers to note "higher protection matters" when they assess appropriate technical and organizational measures.
The bill specifically defines children's "higher protection matters." Edwards said that while he's committed to ensuring that children are protected, it's important to clarify that while an organization might have to take different steps when handling children's data as opposed to that of adults, "the underlying data protection principles themselves remain the same" and there isn't a higher legal standard for processing children's data.
The revised bill now requires the ICO to regulate the transparency of web crawler use, Edwards said. Since the amendment didn't come from the government, there's no impact assessment and the ICO hasn't been consulted about its implications.
Parliament has agreed on new offenses regarding sexually explicit digitally produced inmates without consent, Edwards said. While he said he supports the intent to make deepfakes a crime, some parliamentary statements questioned whether this new offense would be incompatible with the European Convention of Human Rights. He asked for government assurance that it has "considered and assessed any implications for the European Commission's review of the UK's adequacy status."