Thread by @pmdfoster

🚨🚨🚨🇪🇺🇬🇧📀👩‍💻📀👩‍💻📀🇪🇺🇬🇧🚨🚨🚨

EXc: UK eyes removing EU’s human review of AI decisions.

Among ideas as U.K. gov consults on how to seek U.K. #brexit “data dividend”.

But privacy campaigners and EU will be watching. /1

on.ft.com/38S3q1x

This relates to Article 22 of GDPR, the EU data protection regulation which guarantees a human review of automated decision or profiling -- for EG online loan award a loan, or a recruitment aptitude test using algorithms to filter candidates. /2

ico.org.uk/for-organisati…

Art 22 has been a target for Brexiters like Iain Duncan Smith who led the govt's TIGRR review on how to seek a regulatory dividend from Brexit.

Their report argued A22 should be removed and replaced with a public interest test. /3

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…

The government as part of this 10-week consultation to set up a new, post-#Brexit UK data regime is asking if Article 22 should be a) removed b) amended.

NO decisions taken yet, and there are arguments that EU approach is too restrictive. /4

The government says review of A22 is necessary to keeping pace with the likely evolution of a data-driven economy and society, but also wants to seek inputs from practitioners given lack of case law on how it works. /5

All this is part of @OliverDowden pledge to deliver a "data dividend" from #Brexit and DCMS is tooling up, more staff, bigger department...Dowden says it will create a “world leading” data regime that was based on “common sense, not box-ticking”. /6

@OliverDowden The elephant in the room here is the EU which awarded the UK as data adequacy agreement in February -- experts and trade groups say is vital to UK trade -- but which the EU can pull plug on at any moment if UK diverges too from GDPR /7

@OliverDowden Also worth recalling that its not just EU commission that has a say here...if the UK moves to far and a case can be made in ECJ that data is not appropriately handed then data activists like Max Schrems can take cases, like the one they just won on US data sharing /8

@OliverDowden As my colleague @JavierespFT reports the EU is very clear that a) it is watching and b) it has built necessary safeguards into UK-EU agreement.

The UK says its regime will be founded around GDPR....but in areas like A22 it might sail v close to wind /9

@OliverDowden @JavierespFT As my colleague @madhumita29 explains a radical departure on A22 would see UK moving into a very different space from even China.../10

@OliverDowden @JavierespFT @madhumita29 What does industry think? Well, that's part of the point of the consultation...but the watch word is caution against jeopardising data adequacy with EU and forcing UK companies to fall back on 'standard contract clauses' and 'binding corporate rules' which will companies £m's /11

@OliverDowden @JavierespFT @madhumita29 So @techUK says there's lots sensible in consultation but they “will want to take a close look at the proposed reforms to privacy management frameworks". Which sounds like a warning to me.

@William_Bain of @britishchambers echoes this, warning changes must not weaken EU links/12

@OliverDowden @JavierespFT @madhumita29 @techUK @William_Bain @britishchambers So lets see what happens....it's a 10 week consultation. Then govt will draft legislation that will cut across GDPR/Data Protection Act 2018/Digital Economy Act 2017.

As always, there's a line to be walked. /13

@OliverDowden @JavierespFT @madhumita29 @techUK @William_Bain @britishchambers If you want a fuller look at trade-offs and balances see last week's #Brexit Briefing...with @GeorgeMRiddell among others.

ft.com/content/de7afb…