Data Protection Act

Proposed Amendments

The new bill currently progressing through the UK parliament has raised significant concerns within the human rights community. We’ve dissected the main components of the bill to provide a clear and straightforward explanation of its implications. Here’s what you need to know:

  1. Increased Police Powers to Access Data:
  • What it Means: The police will have expanded authority to access personal data with the intent of apprehending individuals.
  • Significance for Human Rights: Such expansive powers can risk privacy infringements. Without strict oversight and clear boundaries, there’s potential for misuse, which can endanger the right to privacy enshrined in numerous international human rights treaties.

 

  1. UK GDPR Changes via Statutory Instrument:
  • What it Means: Future changes to the UK’s GDPR laws can be made using a statutory instrument, a type of delegated legislation.
  • Significance for Parliamentary Protocol: Using statutory instruments means these changes can bypass the usual parliamentary scrutiny. For something as significant as data protection rights, this could lead to critical amendments being made without comprehensive debate or public consultation.

 

  1. Secretary of State’s Power to Amend Primary Legislation:
  • What it Means: The Secretary of State can alter, repeal, or revoke provisions made by primary legislation using a statutory instrument.
  • Significance for Parliamentary Protocol: This concentrates significant power in the hands of the Secretary of State, bypassing the usual legislative processes. It undermines the principles of parliamentary democracy where primary legislation, representing major law changes, should undergo thorough review and debate.

 

  1. Abolition of the Office of Commissioner for the Retention and Use of Biometric Material:
  • What it Means: The designated office responsible for overseeing the use and storage of biometric data (like fingerprints and DNA) will be eliminated.
  • Significance for Human Rights: Biometric data is among the most personal data individuals possess. Without an overseeing body, there’s a heightened risk of misuse or overreach, potentially infringing on individuals’ rights to privacy and protection from unlawful surveillance.

 

  1. Abolition of CCTV Regulations:
  • What it Means: The specific regulations governing the use of CCTV will be removed.
  • Significance for Human Rights: With no clear regulations, there’s potential for unchecked surveillance. Unregulated use of CCTV can infringe upon the right to privacy, and without clear guidelines, there’s an increased risk of misuse or abuse.

 

Thankfully this Bill is only at report stage so it allows us time to lobby MP’s and ask them to propose or support amendments to get rid of these parts of the Bill. If this Bill passes as is they are paving the way towards a surveillance state!

Use the form below to email your MP and please do opt in to the campaign so that we can email the MP again on your behalf at all key moments in this Bill.

 

Email Your MP

The simple and most effective thing you can do is write to your MP along with all of your family and friends.

We’ve written a template email for you which you can read below and fill in the form below which will send it straight to your MP –

Data Protection Bill

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One lone email to a single MP is very unlikely to enact change but when all the MPs receive thousands and thousands of them it lets them know that they have to act.

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Read the Letter to Your MP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear [MP Name],

I am writing to you as a concerned constituent regarding certain provisions within the recent Data Protection Bill progressing through Parliament. This bill, in its current form, presents potential infringements on the privacy rights and democratic checks and balances that many of us hold dear. I wish to bring to your attention specific clauses and their implications, with the hope that you might propose or support amendments that address these issues.

  1. Increased Police Powers to Access Data: (Reference: Schedule One Line 5) The proposed increase in police authority to access personal data may jeopardise the right to privacy. While ensuring public safety is crucial, it is equally vital to guarantee that these powers are not misused.
  2. Future Changes to UK GDPR via Statutory Instrument: (Reference: Clause 46 Chapter 9A Line 5) The ability to make significant changes to the UK’s GDPR laws without thorough parliamentary scrutiny threatens our data protection rights. This approach may bypass crucial debates and public consultations.
  3. Secretary of State’s Power Over Primary Legislation: (Reference: Part 6 Clause 114, 2c) Concentrating the power to amend, repeal, or revoke provisions of primary legislation in the hands of the Secretary of State, without the usual checks and balances, erodes the principles of parliamentary democracy.
  4. Abolition of the Office of Commissioner for the Retention and Use of Biometric Material: (Reference: Clause 111) Biometric data holds deeply personal information. The removal of this overseeing body can create a potential vacuum in accountability, raising concerns over misuse or overreach.
  5. Removal of CCTV Regulations: (Reference: Clause 112) CCTV regulations are essential for protecting individual privacy. Without these, there’s potential for unchecked surveillance, with increased risk of misuse or abuse.

In light of the above concerns, I urge you to either propose amendments to remove or modify these parts of the bill or to support any amendments with similar objectives at all further stages. Our democratic principles, transparency, and individual rights are at stake, and I hope you will use your position to uphold and protect them.

I look forward to hearing your stance on this vital matter.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

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