UK
Summary
Law: Data Protection Act 2018 ('the Data Protection Act') and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) ('UK GDPR')
Regulator: The Information Commissioner's Office ('ICO')
Summary: Since the UK is no longer a member of the EU, from 1 January 2021, the UK's data protection regime has been regulated by the Data Protection Act and the UK GDPR, which is broadly similar the EU GDPR. As a result, the European Commission adopted two adequacy decisions for the UK, one under the GDPR and one under the Data Protection Directive with Respect to Law Enforcement.
In addition. on September 21, 2023, the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology ('DSIT') published the Data Protection (Adequacy) (United States of America) Regulations 2023 for the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, designating the US as a jurisdiction that ensures an adequate level of personal data protection for data transfers in specified circumstances.
Notably, the UK does plan on updating its current data protection regime and reintroduced, on November 8, 2023, the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill which was carried over from the 2022-2023 session. The new bill aims to update and simplify the UK's data protection framework through changes in language and substance to certain provisions. The aim of the bill is to provide flexibility and reduce organizational burdens while maintaining high data protection standards.