On the 10th May, the state opening of Parliament took place, with the traditional Queen’s speech being delivered by Prince Charles and Prince William on the Queen’s behalf. One of the points made in the speech was the expected reforms to the UK’s data protection regime.
The new data protection reform will see changes to how the UK handles personal dataInformation which relates to an identified or identifiable natural person. regulation following the withdrawal from the EU and will create a “world-class data rights regime”, help modernise the Information Commissioner’s Office (with a focus on cracking down on data breaches), and promote “smart data schemes” that aim to help small businesses and residents have better control over their data.
The Queen’s Speech also mentioned the government’s intention to improve online safety by imposing a duty of care on online companies like Meta and Twitter to protect users against harmful and illegal content. The government will also include new competition rules for the “largest digital firms” and measures that will “strengthen consumer rights and protect households and businesses”.
You can view the full speech here.