On 28 June 2021, the European Commission adopted two adequacy decisions for the transfer of personal data from the EU and EEA to the United Kingdom following the agreed post-Brexit transition period. The two adequacy decisions allow personal data transfers under: (i) the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); and (ii) the Law Enforcement Directive respectively. The decisions came days before the transitional agreement under the EU-UK Cooperation Agreement was set to expire on 30 June 2021 and ensure that personal data can be transferred freely from the EU/EEA to the UK for the next four years. Following its thorough assessment of the UK’s practice on the protection of personal data including rules on the access to data by public authorities, the Commission came to the decision that the UK’s data protection system continues to be based on the same rules that were applicable while the UK was still a Member State of the EU. The Commission’s decision means that the UK’s data protection standards are considered “adequate”, pursuant to Article 45 of the GDPR. Please click on the link below to read our note on the subject.
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