European Commission urged to revoke UK data adequacy

The European Digital Rights (EDRi), including members Open Rights Group and Privacy International, have sent an open letter to the European Commission expressing their concerns regarding the UK's continued adequacy status despite its growing divergence from the standards required under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Law Enforcement Directive (LED). 

The letter outlines "a sustained and systemic erosion of privacy and data protection", which they argue would be further degraded in the pursuit of simplification by the Data (Use and Access) Bill (DUA Bill) should it complete its passage through Parliament.     

The letter also warns the Commission to act decisively or risk the UK's adequacy decisions being struck down by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) if its data protection framework is further weakened.

In a statement, Mariano delli Santi, Policy Officer at Open Rights Group said: "The UK data protection reform was proposed in 2021 by a Brexit government, with the intent of putting the UK further apart from Europe. The Data (Use and Access) Bill is the latest in a series of attacks on data protection and privacy in the UK. Successive governments are not only harming the British public with these attacks but undermining our relationship with the EU.

"Recycling failed Brexit policies with the DUA Bill contradicts the Labour government efforts to reset EU-UK relationships. By following on Boris Johnson’s footsteps, Labour is making a display of bad leadership in tech.

"Losing our adequacy status at a time when the UK is trying to improve its economic outlook would be a costly self inflicted wound that must be avoided at all costs."