A briefing on the new UK Digital Economy Bill

With GDPR on hold because of Brexit, new UK legislation is set to come into force

With the UK's Brexit vote, the adoption and implementation of the proposed European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is now seeming less likely. In this briefing, I will cover the latest announcements and explain about new legislation that UK marketers will need to be aware of that will influence future rules governing the use of consumer data.

Parliament has now approved the first reading of the Digital Economy Bill that will instruct the Information Commissioner to prepare a code of practice on direct marketing with a clear instruction that relevant parties from within the direct marketing industry must be consulted.

In addition, Minister of State at the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, Baroness Neville Rolfe, has called for contributions in shaping the future of regulation by declaring that she is 'very much in listening mode'.

The minister has stated there can be no way of knowing whether or not GDPR is likely to apply to the UK until trade negotiations with the EU begin. Given that the government has not decided its timetable to establish its bargaining position it means it is not possible to speculate about the time at which it may be possible to speculate about EU influenced regulation change.

With the Digital Economy Bill being sponsored by government itself, and being written into the Queens Speech, it is likely to come into law far more quickly than the conclusion of trade talks relating to data regulation, with the additional possibility of the Information Commissioner deciding new direct marketing rules before negotiators have finished their job.

In the immediate and medium term the only thing certain is uncertainty, and it is this atmosphere that presents an ideal opportunity for all parties to review all regulation to take into account the interests of both business and members of the public.

Such a review, which matches Baroness Neville Rolfe's intentions and government policy, should include all elements of commercial communication and data relating to members of the public. This should include the Telephone Preference Service, which is showing increasing signs that it past its sell by date at being 20 years old - half its files are dead and it has far more registrations than there are active telephone numbers in the UK . More important, it is not effective in stopping increasing public concern about 'nuisance' calls. A more effective system needs to be considered.

Now is the time for an open review to create regulation for the next decade that protects the public, and lays down unambiguous rules that allow companies to operate within clearly defined parameters. Incorporating all regulation into the review, including that of the Telephone Preference Service, Ministry of Justice and Advertising Standards Authority provides a unique opportunity to establish rules that do not overlap and contradict each other. Clashes of rules currently put companies in an unfair situation in which they have to decide which rules to break based on which regulatory authority is likely to hand out the least severe punishment.

The government Minister and her colleagues at Westminster have got it right. They want ideas for the future, and we should be carefully marshalling our thoughts and preparing to engage. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to create joined up rules that are understood and work for everyone, including members of the public. The alternative is go on as we are muddling through with multiple sets of rules that overlap leaving nobody satisfied and always with the possibility of future short-term change. 

If you want greater detail about the contents of the bill, you can read the first draft of the bill to go to parliament in full here.

By Dene Walsh, Operations and Compliance Director at Verso Group