United Kingdom: Introduced Data Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill including cross-border data transfer regulation

On 8 March 2023, the Data Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill, including cross-border data transfer regulation, was introduced in the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament. The Bill would amend the UK Data Protection Regulation provisions regarding the transfers of personal data to third countries and international organisations. The Secretary of State would have the power to approve the transfers outside the UK and adopt regulations allowing transfers if the protections offered to data subjects in a third country or international organisation are not "materially lower" than the ones provided by the Bill. Furthermore, the Secretary of State would have the power to adopt regulations specifying "standard data protection clauses" that entities would be able to use to transfer data. Finally, the Secretary of State would be able to restrict the transfers of specific categories of personal data to a third country or international organisation to uphold the public interest.