With the Data Protection and Digital Information (DPDI) Bill being washed up in the busy election period, the next step forward for developing digital verification in the UK has been reset back to the start of negotiations.
All mid-way legislation has been dropped until Parliament can be resumed after the current uncertain period of who will be in power.
The circumstances have rallied leading business associations, industry leaders and experts together to reiterate the expectations for this legislation to be continued and modernise the UK’s data protection framework. All parties do not want to lose legal certainty and support that the regulation would provide around strong privacy protection standards for digital identity.
Whichever party and leader takes power, law-making should include the existing plans to reform the approach to data within the UK’s data protection framework.
The group signed an open letter showing their support to supplement the Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF) with another legislation as “a matter of urgency”.
The next government will face a handover of “fundamental challenges” related to digital identity such as the difficulty of transacting with trust and the surge of fraud, money laundering and misinformation via digital channels. The group also does not want to lose the progress or momentum of passing more legislation whilst dynamics in Parliament are potentially due for a major shift.
There must be the same commitment by any political party in power to achieving an effective digital ID legislation, as many “mature technologies” are readily available on the market which offer “real solutions to these challenges”.
The UK’s data regulation framework, which was developed over a three year period, will be reformed in favour of a “progressive and innovation-friendly regulatory environment” that maintains “strong privacy protection standards”.
The letter suggested the general election could be a beneficial opportunity to modernise data policies, encourage economic growth and more innovative and effective public services.
The recommendations in the letter pointed the new government towards making the use of data easier for research and public good and “greater flexibility in a more complex global environment for data transfers”.
Updating the law will in turn enable the beneficial uptake of automated decision-making like AI.
Legislation should introduce Smart Data Schemes in appropriate sectors.
