Ethics Commission spared the chop
Prime Minister Theresa May’s plans to tighten up UK laws on personal data have remained in the Queen’s Speech.
The speech was devoid of key Conservative manifesto pledges including the scrapping of free school meals, plans to expand grammar schools and the so-called ‘dementia tax’ reforms to social care – but plans to introduce new data protection laws appear to have remained.
At the state opening of Parliament, the Queen said: “A new law will ensure that the United Kingdom retains its world-class regime protecting personal data, and proposals for a new digital charter will be brought forward to ensure that the United Kingdom is the safest place to be online.”
The Conservative manifesto spoke of plans to create a Data Use and Ethics Commission to oversee the storage and handling of data.
Social media platforms would be required to delete information held about users at the age of 18 and give people greater control over the personal data held by companies.
Alongside this, the manifesto promised to invest more in security as well as force “Internet companies” – a broad term used to refer to search engines, social networks and service providers – to limit access to pornography, hate speech and “other sources of harm”
The speech mentioned a review of the government’s counter-terrorism strategies, with the possibility of changing prison terms for terrorism-related offences. It is currently unclear how this may affect or enhance powers given to security services under the Investigatory Powers Act.
The speech was dominated by the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, as well as the “social, economic and cultural bonds” between the constituent nations and devolved administrations of the UK.
“ Houses of Parliament detail 6 ” by Rev Stan is licensed under CC BY 2.0 .
