April 19, 2016

The European Parliament has announced that reforms of data protection law have been given final approval by MEPs (see item above).

Responding, Steve Wood, ICO Head of Policy Delivery, said: “Today’s progress marks another step toward data protection reform.  Many of the principles in the new legislation are much the same as those in the current law, but there are important new elements, and some things will need to be done differently.  It will enhance the data protection rights of individuals and make organisations more accountable.  The legislation will have a two year transition period for organisations to make those changes”.

Mr Wood confirmed that the ICO would be here to provide support during the transition period.  In fact, he said, work around implementing the reforms has “started in earnest”, particularly around identifying the key areas on which the ICO will focus its guidance on.  Mr Wood concluded that there is, however, “plenty of work to do” to make sure the UK is ready for the reforms in 2018.

As previously reported in N2K, the ICO has already published a 12-step guide to preparing for the new data protection rules.  To access the guide, click here.  To read the ICO’s press release in full, click here.