Lords inquiry hears from overseas experts on international data exchange
Thursday 16 May 2024
International data experts will address the House of Lords European Affairs Committee as part of its inquiry into the UK’s future data exchange arrangements with the EU.
The inquiry, chaired by Lord Ricketts, comes ahead of a renewal decision by the EU on the UK’s laws and systems for protecting personal data.
Their so-called “adequacy” decision is a formal decision made by the EU which recognises that another country provides an equivalent level of protection for personal data as the EU does. Two adequacy decisions affect the UK: one for transfers under the EU GDPR and the other for transfers under the Law Enforcement Directive (LED).
The European Commission will start work later this year on whether to extend the adequacy decisions for the UK for a further period up to a maximum of another four years. If they don’t extend the decisions, then they will expire on 27 June 2025.
At 4.15pm on 21 May in Committee Room 3 of the Palace of Westminster, members will hear from:
- Peter Swire, Professor of Law and Ethics in the Scheller College of Business, and chair in the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy in the Georgia Tech College of Computing
- Josh Lee Kok Thong, Managing Director, Asia-Pacific, Future of Privacy Forum
Formerly, Prof Swire was chief counsellor for privacy in the US Office of Management and Budget under President Clinton. Josh Lee Kok Thong was legal policy manager for Artificial Intelligence Governance in Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Commission.
Topics the committee is seeking evidence on include:
- What can be learned from other countries’ experience with the “data adequacy” system and engagement with the European Commission’s process?
- What conclusions can be drawn from the European Commission’s recent adequacy review of 11 countries and territories?
- Are there examples of best practice which the UK could learn from in the way other countries approach their data transfer arrangements with the EU?
- What are the implications for the UK’s EU adequacy status if the UK grants its own adequacy decisions to other third countries currently not subject to EU adequacy?
The session can be heard live or on demand on Parliament TV or in person.
