Collection and processing in the United Kingdom
Controllers are responsible for compliance with a set of core principles which apply to all processing of personal data. Under these principles, personal data must be (Article 5):
- processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner (the "lawfulness, fairness and transparency principle");
- collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes (the "purpose limitation principle");
- adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purpose(s) (the "data minimization principle");
- accurate and where necessary kept up to date (the "accuracy principle");
- kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purpose(s) for which the data are processed (the "storage limitation principle"); and
- processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, using appropriate technical and organizational measures (the "integrity and confidentiality principle").
The controller is responsible for and must be able to demonstrate compliance with the above principles (the "accountability principle"). Accountability is a core theme of the UK GDPR. Organisations must not only comply with the UK GDPR but also be able to demonstrate compliance perhaps years after a particular decision relating to processing personal data was taken. Record keeping, audit and appropriate governance will all form a key role in achieving accountability.
Legal basis under Article 6
In order to satisfy the lawfulness principle, each use of personal data must be justified by reference to an appropriate basis for processing. The legal bases (also known lawful bases or lawful grounds) under which personal data may be processed are (Article 6(1)):
- with the consent of the data subject (where consent must be "freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous", and must be capable of being withdrawn at any time);
- where necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party, or to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract;
- where necessary to comply with a legal obligation (under UK law) to which the controller is subject;
- where necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject or another person (generally recognised as being limited to 'life or death' scenarios, such as medical emergencies);
- where necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest, or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller; or
- where necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests of the controller or a third party (which is subject to a balancing test, in which the interests of the controller must not override the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject. Note also that this basis cannot be relied upon by a public authority in the performance of its tasks).
The DUA Act has introduced the concept of ‘recognised legitimate interests’ to provide a presumption of legitimacy to certain processing activities that a controller may wish to carry out under Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR (legitimate interests). Examples of recognised legitimate interests include activities such as direct marketing, intra-group transmission of personal data for internal administration purposes and ensuring the security of network and information systems. Several public interest related legitimate interests are also included, such as crime prevention; public security; safeguarding; emergency response; and sharing personal data to help other organisations perform their public tasks. Controllers wishing to rely on this new basis must still assess whether the processing is necessary for the purpose pursued but do not need to carry out an additional balancing test to balance the benefits of this processing against the impact on the rights and freedom of the people whose personal information it is using.
Special categories of personal data
Processing of special categories of personal data is prohibited (Article 9), except where one of the following exemptions applies (which, in effect, operate as secondary bases which must be established for the lawful processing of special category data, in addition to an Article 6 basis):
- with the explicit consent of the data subject;
- where necessary for the purposes of carrying out obligations and exercising rights under employment, social security and social protection law or a collective agreement;
- where necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject or another natural person who is physically or legally incapable of giving consent;
- in limited circumstances by certain not-for-profit bodies;
- where processing relates to the personal data which are manifestly made public by the data subject;
- where processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or where courts are acting in their legal capacity;
- where necessary for reasons of substantial public interest on the basis of United Kingdom law, proportionate to the aim pursued and with appropriate safeguards;
- where necessary for preventative or occupational medicine, for assessing the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, provision of health or social care or treatment of the management of health or social care systems and services;
- where necessary for reasons of public interest in the area of public health, such as protecting against serious cross-border threats to health or ensuring high standards of health care and of medical products and devices; or
- where necessary for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with restrictions set out in Article 89(1).
Schedule 1 to the DPA supplements the requirements for processing special categories of personal data, and also provides for a number of ‘substantial public interest’ grounds that can be relied upon to process special categories of personal data in specific contexts which are deemed to be in the public interest. Many of these grounds are familiar from the previous UK law, whilst other are new. Important examples include:
- processing required for employment law;
- heath and social care;
- equal opportunity monitoring;
- public interest journalism;
- fraud prevention;
- preventing / detecting unlawful acts (eg money laundering / terrorist financing);
- insurance; and
- occupational pensions.
The DUAA also grants the Secretary of State the authority to designate new special categories of personal data and additional processing activities that fall under the prohibition of processing special category data in Article 9(1) of the UK GDPR.
Criminal convictions and offences data (Article 10)
The processing of criminal conviction or offences data is prohibited by Article 10 of the UK GDPR, except where specifically authorised under relevant member state law. Part 3 of Schedule 1 of the DPA authorises a controller to process criminal conviction or offences data where the processing is necessary for a purpose which meets one of the conditions in Parts 2 of Schedule 1 (this covers the conditions noted above other than processing for employment law, health and social care), as well as number of other specific conditions:
- consent;
- the protection of a data subject's vital interests; and
- the establishment, exercising or defence of legal rights, the obtaining of legal advice and the conduct of legal proceedings
Appropriate policy and additional safeguards
In any case where a controller wishes to rely on one of the DPA conditions to lawfully process special category, criminal conviction or offences data, the DPA imposes a separate requirement to have an appropriate policy document in place and apply additional safeguards to justify the processing activity. The purpose of the policy document is to set out how the controller intends to comply with each of the data protection principles in Article 5 of the UK GDPR in relation to this more sensitive processing data activity.
Processing for a secondary purpose
Increasingly, organisations wish to 're-purpose' personal data - i.e. use data collected for one purpose for a new purpose which was not disclosed to the data subject at the time the data were first collected. This is potentially in conflict with the core principle of purpose limitation; to ensure that the rights of data subjects are protected. The UK GDPR sets out a series of factors that the controller must consider to ascertain whether the new process is compatible with the purposes for which the personal data were initially collected (Article 6(4)). These include:
- any link between the original purpose and the new purpose
- the context in which the data have been collected
- the nature of the personal data, in particular whether special categories of data or data relating to criminal convictions are processed (with the inference being that if they are it will be much harder to form the view that a new purpose is compatible)
- the possible consequences of the new processing for the data subjects
- the existence of appropriate safeguards, which may include encryption or pseudonymisation.
If the controller concludes that the new purpose is incompatible with the original purpose, then the only bases to justify the new purpose are consent or a legal obligation.
The DUA Act introduces changes to provisions in relation to purpose limitation, setting out when an organisation can consider a new use of personal information to be compatible with the original purpose it was collected it for. The DUA Act provides two different sets of rules, covering personal information that an organisation originally collected under the lawful basis of consent; and personal information originally collected under any of the other lawful bases for processing.
Transparency (privacy notices)
The UK GDPR places considerable emphasis on transparency, i.e. the right for a data subject to understand how and why his or her data are used, and what other rights are available to data subjects to control processing. The presentation of granular, yet easily accessible, privacy notices should, therefore, be seen as a cornerstone of UK GDPR compliance.
Various information must be provided by controllers to data subjects in a concise, transparent and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language (Article 12(1)).
The following information must be provided (Article 13) at the time the data are obtained:
- the identity and contact details of the controller;
- the data protection officer's contact details (if there is one);
- both the purpose for which data will be processed and the legal basis for processing, including, if relevant, the legitimate interests for processing;
- the recipients or categories of recipients of the personal data;
- details of international transfers;
- the period for which personal data will be stored or, if that is not possible, the criteria used to determine this;
- the existence of rights of the data subject including the right to access, rectify, require erasure, restrict processing, object to processing and data portability;
- where applicable, the right to withdraw consent, and the right to complain to supervisory authorities;
- the consequences of failing to provide data necessary to enter into a contract;
- the existence of any automated decision making and profiling and the consequences for the data subject; and
- in addition, where a controller wishes to process existing data for a new purpose, they must inform data subjects of that further processing, providing the above information.
Different requirements apply (Article 14) where information has not been obtained from the data subject.
Rights of the data subject
Data subjects enjoy a range of rights to control the processing of their personal data replicating those in the EU GDPR. Controllers must provide information on action taken in response to requests within one calendar month as a default, with a limited right for the controller to extend this period thereby a further two months where the request is onerous.
Right of access (Article 15)
A data subject is entitled to request access to and obtain a copy of his or her personal data, together with prescribed information about the how the data have been used by the controller.
Right to rectify (Article 16)
Data subjects may require inaccurate or incomplete personal data to be corrected or completed without undue delay.
Right to erasure ('right to be forgotten') (Article 17)
Data subjects may request erasure of their personal data. The right is not absolute; it only arises in quite a narrow set of circumstances, notably where the controller no longer needs the data for the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise lawfully processed, or as a corollary of the successful exercise of the objection right, or of the withdrawal of consent.
Right to restriction of processing (Article 18)
Data subjects enjoy a right to restrict processing of their personal data in defined circumstances. These include where the accuracy of the data is contested; where the processing is unlawful; where the data are no longer needed save for legal claims of the data subject, or where the legitimate grounds for processing by the controller are contested.
Right to data portability (Article 20)
Where the processing of personal data is justified either on the basis that the data subject has given his or her consent to processing or where processing is necessary for the performance of a contract, then the data subject has the right to receive or have transmitted to another controller all personal data concerning him or her in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format (e.g. commonly used file formats recognised by mainstream software applications, such as .xsl).
Right to object (Article 21)
Data subjects have the right to object to processing on the legal basis of the legitimate interests of the data controller or where processing is in the public interest. Controllers will then have to suspend processing of the data until such time as they demonstrate “compelling legitimate grounds” for processing which override the rights of the data subject.
In addition, data subjects enjoy an unconditional right to object to the processing of personal data for direct marketing purposes at any time.
The right not to be subject to automated decision making, including profiling (Article 22)
Automated decision making (including profiling) "which produces legal effects concerning [the data subject] … or similarly significantly affects him or her" is only permitted where:
- necessary for entering into or performing a contract;
- authorised by UK law; or
- the data subject has given their explicit (i.e. opt-in) consent.
Further, where significant automated decisions are taken on the basis of grounds (a) or (c), the data subject has the right to obtain human intervention, to contest the decision, and to express his or her point of view. Further safeguards for automated decisions that are necessary for entering into or performing a contract or which are authorised by UK law are set out in section 14 of the DPA.
The DUA Act includes clarifications on dealing with data subject access requests (“DSARs“), which effectively codify existing practice and ICO guidance. In particular, the DUA Act clarifies that searches in response to subject access requests are limited to “reasonable and proportionate” searches and codifies “stopping the clock” where further information is required. Controllers must be able to demonstrate that clarification is reasonably required in order to respond to a DSAR, and if a clarification is requested, the time limit is paused until the information is received.
The DUA Act also requires organisations to establish a complaints procedure. This has not yet come into force and is due to commence in June 2026.
Child's consent to information society services (Article 8)
Article 8(1) of the UK GDPR stipulates that a child may only provide their own consent to processing in respect of information society (primarily, online) services, where that child is over 16 years of age, unless UK law applies a lower age. The DPA reduces the age of consent for these purposes to 13 years for the UK.
