06 October 2021

The UK will attempt to move away from European data protection regulations as it overhauls its privacy rules after Brexit, the government has announced. The freedom to chart its own course could lead to an end to irritating cookie popups and consent requests online, said the culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, as he called for rules based on “common sense, not box-ticking”. However, any changes will be constrained by the need to offer a new regime that the EU deems adequate, otherwise data transfers between the UK and EU could be frozen. John Edwards, currently the privacy commissioner of New Zealand, will be put in charge of overseeing the transformation. He will replace Elizabeth Denham, whose term in office will end October 31 after a three-month extension.