DCMS data protection reforms: summary of consultation proposals and outcome

This article summarises the data protection reforms proposed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in its consultation which closed on 19 November 2021. It covers the proposed reforms to the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018), along with the views sought, under each of the consultation's main areas. The DCMS published the outcome of the consultation on 17 June 2022 and this article includes a summary of the government's response to each proposal following the results of the consultation. The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (DPDI Bill) was introduced into Parliament on 18 July 2022 although its second reading has been delayed. For a summary of the DPDI Bill's key data protection provisions, see Practice note, Data Protection and Digital Information Bill: key data protection provisions. On 3 October 2022, the government announced plans to introduce a bespoke British data protection system. For updates on the DPDI Bill and other legislative proposals, see UK data protection legislation tracker.