Yahoo Finance Government announces first post-Brexit data-sharing deal with South Korea
The United Kingdom has reached an agreement with South Korea that means businesses can share data with fewer restrictions, and without contractual safeguards.
The government’s announcement is the first independent data adequacy agreement that the UK has made with a country since leaving the European Union.
“Our new agreement will open up more digital trade to boost UK businesses and will enable more vital research that can improve the lives of people across the country,” British Data Minister Julia Lopez said in a statement.
It is unclear when this will come into effect.
“As democratic and like-minded partners seized of the importance of these issues, we agree to contribute to a healthier and more sustainable global data ecosystem based on free and safe data flows, a notice of the announcement stated.
“This begins with our bilateral partnership and we agree to work together on the direction and improvement of data frameworks for the digital age, noting ongoing initiatives in our respective countries, such as the UK’s National Data Strategy and proposed reforms to the UK GDPR and the Republic of Korea’s proposed amendments to the Personal Information Protection Act.
“We recognise the importance of designing and delivering more scalable solutions that meet the global challenges and opportunities on data. We agree to work with our other strategic partners on multilateral initiatives, such as the Global CBPR Forum and the OECD’s work on Trusted Government Access to Data.”
The government’s history on data has been called into question due to their recent plans to move to an opt-out model for cookie banners, which allow websites to track users all over the internet.
The banners were introduced as part of EU regulations, which were intended to give more transparency about what information is being collected, but have been criticised by some users for being annoying.
The Open Rights Group, an organisation that adovcates for privacy and free speech online, has said the government’s new data laws will “bonfire your rights”.
Currently, users must give consent for websites to track them, but the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has said this new proposal “would mean cookies could be set without seeking consent”, though “the website must give the web user clear information about how to opt out.”
The group said: “The Government are boldly taking the side of the abusers and the law-breakers: the UK Data Reform Bill will make it the default setting to spy on us, and your burden to opt-out of something you never wanted in the first place.”
The government also unveiled a plan in August last year to scrap EU data protection rules as part of a post-Brexit privacy purge that would allow companies to sell customer data to foreign countries.
