Asked by: Baroness Kidron (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the UK–Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement will permit onward data transfers of UK personal data under Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Cross-Border Privacy Rules.
Answered by Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
The UK is committed to maintaining high standards of protection for personal data, including when it is transferred across borders. Data provisions in Free Trade Agreements including the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) are separate but complementary to the UK’s adequacy process and international data protection frameworks.
Through CEPA, we have agreed to avoid unjustified restrictions on the free flow of data between the UK and Japan, and committed to maintaining a legal framework that provides for the protection of personal information. CEPA only addresses data flows between the UK and Japan and does not address onward transfers to other jurisdictions. The UK has not endorsed the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Cross Border Privacy Rules System (APEC CBPR).
Asked by: Baroness Kidron (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the monetary value of trade involving personal data between the UK and Japan.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It is difficult to estimate figures for trade values involving personal data specifically, and the closest proxy we have is for data-enabled trade. We estimate that the value of data-enabled services trade with Japan is £12.9 billion, £7.0 billion of which is exports and £5.9 billion in imports. These values are derived from the Office of National Statistics 2019 trade figures.
Asked by: Baroness Kidron (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of accepting transfers made under Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Cross-Border Privacy Rules on (1) the privacy rights of (a) UK citizens, (b) children, and (c) disadvantaged groups, and (2) the enforcement of data protection provisions under Section 123 of the Data Protection Act 2018.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The UK does not intend for Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to provide a legal basis, as a matter of domestic law, for the cross border transfer of personal data.
The recently agreed UK–Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), for example, does not provide for the onward transfer of UK citizens’ data using the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Cross Border Privacy Rules System (APEC CBPR). It also does not alter the UK’s existing protections as enshrined in the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR, including the age-appropriate design code provisions in the DPA.
The UK is committed to working with international partners to remove unnecessary barriers to international data flows. This includes promoting interoperability between international data protection frameworks, which must ensure personal data is appropriately safeguarded.
Asked by: Baroness Kidron (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the monetary value of trade involving personal data between the UK and the EU.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It is difficult to estimate figures for trade values involving personal data specifically, and the closest proxy we have is for data-enabled trade. We estimate that the value of data-enabled services trade between the UK and the EU is £143.7 billion, £91.4 billion of which is exports, and £52.3 billion in imports. These values are derived from the Office of National Statistics 2019 trade figures.