The European Commission is expected to allow data to continue to travel to the United Kingdom from the territory of the European Union after Brexit.
According to the draft document reviewed by the Financial Times, Brussels decided it was convinced that the UK’s data processing policies provide an adequate level of protection.
The decision to grant adequacy of data is expected to be confirmed later this week, but may be subject to appeal in the European Union’s Court of Justice and will be reviewed every four years to ensure that standards remain high.
The UK has already said it will allow the data to be transferred to the European Union. However, to achieve complete viability, the European Union must implement all necessary measures before the temporary measures expire on June 30th.
Transferring data after Brexit
Diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union have taken a heavy blow since the Brexit transition period ended on December 31, 2020, but the couple seem to agree on the importance of maintaining the free flow of information.
The decision will result in a collective sigh of relief between companies in the European Union and the United Kingdom, for which the free flow of data is vital to efficient operation. This is particularly the case for companies operating in sectors such as finance and insurance, which handle large amounts of confidential customer data.
Ratification of the decision would also allow intelligence data to be passed between EU and UK bodies with the goal of preventing or investigating serious crimes.
Some experts have warned against an early celebration, however, and the collapse of the proposal remains an obvious possibility.
“We advise organizations not to be complacent because this moratorium may be short-lived,” Mark Kiddie, Veritas Technologies’ global chief privacy officer, told TechRadar Pro.
“As with previous similar agreements, the most recent being the Privacy Shield between the European Union and the United States. And the Safe Harbor predecessor before it, there is a clear possibility that a privacy NGO will file a legal challenge in the European Court in the near future to nullify any finding regarding data adequacy in the UK .
According to Keddie, all companies can do to prepare for potential disruptions is to focus on establishing strong data privacy controls and robust data hygiene practices.
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