So MPs have voted against Theresa May’s deal, and the EU are ruling out reopening the agreement making ano-deal Brexit more likely than ever – what does this mean for the sharing of data?
Hint – It’s not good!
Expert Comments below:
Chris Combemale, CEO at DMA:
“In the wake of today’s no vote in Parliament, it is imperative that the Government formulate a plan B and avoid a no-deal Brexit at all costs. A no-deal Brexit would create severe uncertainty for the data and marketing sector and could potentially bring EU to UK data flows to a halt. This would have further knock-on effects on the UK public, with jobs moving to the EU and investment also decreasing.
“The UK needs to be granted adequacy status by the EU Commission but the process can take years to complete. Adequacy status allows personal data to be freely exchanged, just like the UK currently does as a member of the EU. There must be a transitional period for the UK to gain adequacy status and therefore prevent disruptions to the free flow of data.
“For example, a UK-based company that has EU customers may use an EU-based data centre, but the information is processed at the UK HQ. If the UK leaves the EU without a data deal this company would lose access to its own data, as transfers from the EU to UK would be prohibited. The company would need to find a new supplier or may move operations to the EU, so it can efficiently serve EU-based customers and not have to worry about transferring data from the EU to the UK. Therefore, it is vital that the free flow of data is maintained.
“We believe the UK cannot retain its position as a global leader in data, technology and marketing if we do not have an Adequacy deal on future data flows with Europe.”
