GDPR FAQs - Episode 3: What impact will Brexit have on the GDPR?

Initially, Brexit isn't going to make any difference as far as gdpr is concerned. The GDPR is a European regulation which means it applies directly in the UK without the need of any domestic legislation. It comes into effect on the 25th of May 2018, so as of that point the UK will be subject to it and UK businesses will need to be compliant.

When the UK leaves the EU at the end of March 2019, the gdpr will cease to apply, however, in order for the UK to continue doing business with the EU there will need to be a high-level of convergence between EU and UK law, the governments intention at the moment seems to be that in order to ensure that there continues to be a high level of data flow between EU and UK, the government will put in place domestic legislation that will broadly replicate the GDPR.

The UK government has introduced the data protection bill which is currently being scrutinized in parliament, and although there may be some slight variations in present purpose, it's safe to assume we'll still be following the same principles as the gdpr will introduce.