United Kingdom
United Kingdom Introduction
2.1. Overview of principal legislation 2.1.1. UK GDPR is the primary instrument regulating the processing of personal data in the UK, preserving the principles, rights, and accountability architecture of the EU GDPR. 2.1.2. DPA 2018 supplements UK GDPR, including discrete parts for law enforcement processing (Part 3) and intelligence services (Part 4), and contains significant procedural, investigatory, and enforcement provisions. 2.1.3. PECR (which originally enacted EU Directive 2002/58/EC) governs direct marketing, cookies and similar technologies, traffic and location data, and confidentiality of communications. 2.1.4. Common law concepts of confidentiality and the right to privacy, and the Human Rights Act 1998 (incorporating Article 8 ECHR— respect for private and family life) complement statutory privacy protections in specific contexts. Governing Data Protection Legislation
1.1. Note: The UK has three separate legal jurisdictions: England & Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The laws set out apply to the whole of the UK, but enforcement may vary by jurisdiction. Fladgate advises on the law applicable to England & Wales. 1.2. The UK operates a comprehensive, GDPR ‑ derived privacy regime anchored in the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (“DPA 2018”), supplemented by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (“PECR”). Post ‑ Brexit, the UK has retained a framework substantively aligned with the EU GDPR, while introducing UK ‑ specific instruments for international transfers and distinct policy guidance, notably in children’s data. The Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) supervises compliance, issues guidance, and enforces across UK GDPR, DPA 2018, and PECR.
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