The historic referendum vote in June to leave the European Union (EU) has left many questions unanswered and has left the UK in period of political, economic, and social uncertainty. However, the one thing we can be certain about is change.
What impact does this have on compliance, governance and GDPR?
Until the UK has triggered Article 50 to formally commence the exit process and begin negotiations with the EU, there is little or no immediate impact for UK businesses.
The message from authority post-Brexit is to “stay calm and keep compliant.” UK organisations will continue operating as business as usual in the calm before the storm.
We don’t know what the long-term impact of the decision to leave the EU will have on the UK. However, we do know two critical facts to help us determine what to expect post-Brexit:
- The UK will invoke Article 50 sometime in 2017
- Organisations within the EU are required to be General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant by May 2018
With a two-year minimum, mandatory transition period, UK organisations must still put into place internal policies and measures to ensure GDPR compliance in the short-term during negotiations with the EU. Moreover, many commentators believe that the process to untangle itself from the EU could take significantly longer than the 2-year transition period, leaving UK organisations uncertain about long-term regulatory compliance and information governance policies.
Organizations that believe Brexit means the ability to ignore GDPR and compliance requires are grossly mistaken
If Britain elects to remain a member of the European Economic Area (EEA), (with countries like Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein) post-Brexit, it will be required to comply with GRPR. Regardless of what happens, GDPR will apply to any UK organization that holds EU citizen data.
How to gain a detailed understanding for current requirements
Join Mark Williamson, the Co-Founder of Hanzo and creator of modern-day web archiving as well as leading experts Dr. Donald Macfarlane and James Donnelly for an in-depth discussion on why Brexit makes compliance, governance and GDPR even more important for business.
For more information on the event, click here
Date: September 22, 2016
Venue: Reed Smith LLP
Broadgate Tower, 20 Primrose Street London EC2A 2RS
Duration: 9am – 11am
