Data Protection Bill sparks international talks

The governments of Japan, the US and other major international countries are in negotiations with the EC to ensure data sharing will still be possible into the next century.

An EC directive on data protection is in the process of being enacted by member states and it could make information sharing with some countries illegal. If nations have weaker privacy laws than the EC, then all companies and organisations will be banned from transferring personal information to offices based there.

Graham Sutton, of the Home Office's data protection unit, said data privacy issues have been discussed at length and added: "The gap in perception is narrowing between the US and the EU, both in the US administration and US industry. My own feeling is there is quite a long way to go, but the prospect of disruption of trade is concentrating minds on both sides of the Atlantic."

Meanwhile, delays to the UK's Data Protection Act look set to buy the talks some time. UK Home Office Minister, George Howarth, confirmed yesterday that the forthcoming Data Protection Bill will not be implemented this year.

Speaking at a conference on business and privacy laws, Howarth said that with over 40 articles of subordinate legislation necessary to underpin the bill, the UK government cannot meet its target date of 24 October for implementation.

Howarth said: "We've done very well to draft a major bill and get it through Parliament. Now we need to complete the process by getting subordinate legislation in place. We don't think we can do that before the end of this year at the earliest."

The subordinate legislation covers everything from setting an access fee for data subjects to outlining a notification system for companies. One of the most critical aspects still to be decided is the question of international sharing of information. The Bill would prevent UK companies from passing personal data to countries with "inadequate" privacy protections.