UK may have to accept EU privacy regulations for years

The UK could be forced to toe the Brussels line on crucial legislation on privacy and national security for years after Brexit to maintain the free exchange of data with EU countries.

The latest British government paper makes clear that, under current arrangements, the European Commission will have the unilateral power to decide whether the UK’s legislative framework is “adequate” for the flow of the commercially valuable data to continue unchecked following EU withdrawal.

Officials have no doubt that the UK will meet the adequacy test on the date of Brexit, expected in 2019, but that may change if UK legislation on issues like data collection and protection diverges from the EU rulebook in the years to come.