Six years after the referendum where the United Kingdom chose to leave the EU, the country has shared details about its first international data-sharing deal. The UK has signed an agreement with South Korea to allow organizations in the UK to transfer data to the Republic of Korea and vice versa, without any restrictions.
Data transfers
cover all digital services that might be provisioned in one country but used or
run in another country. It covers data in services like smart devices, GPS, research
internet services, online banking, and more.
South Korea is
the home to two of the world's biggest mobile tech companies, LG, and Samsung.
The UK said it represents £1.33 billion or US$ 1.6 billion in international
digital trade.
UK Data Minister
Julia Lopez said this in a statement "Today marks a huge milestone for the
UK, the Republic of Korea, and the high standards of data protection we share. Our
new agreement will open up more digital trade to boost UK businesses and will
enable more vital research that can improve the lives of people across the
country."
Jong in Yoon,
Republic of Korea Commissioner of the Personal Information Protection
Commission, stated, "I am honored to agree to this joint statement today.
Strengthening cooperation between the UK and the Republic of Korea based on the
shared recognition of high standards of protection can contribute to forming a
healthier and more sustainable global data landscape."
Microsoft,
Mastercard, and Google were among the outside experts that advised the UK
government regarding this deal as part of the International Data Transfer
Expert Council that was formed earlier in 2022. The government argues that data
transfers and regulations built around them have led to "billions of
pounds" of trade going "unrealized."
The UK's
Department of Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport is responsible for overseeing
the deal. It said that the idea would be that companies and organizations doing
business across South Korea and the UK will be "able to share data freely
and maintain high protection standards."
As the basics of
the country's respective data usage policies have theoretically been vetted and
harmonized, the parties involved will no longer have to deal with contractural
safeguards like paperwork for International Data Transfer Agreements or Binding
Corporate Rules.
If the UK was
still a part of the EU, this deal might not have been required as South Korea already
has such a deal with the EU.
This deal
between the UK and South Korea is not fully done as of now. It's just in
principle. So, it's still not proven that Brexit will lead to less red tape for
the UK in the future when it comes to signing and implementing trade deals.
Ensuring the
deals are done with the rest of the priority list will be a start. According to
an estimate by the DCMS, "data-enabled services," which includes the
US, are currently worth over £80 billion.
Sources:
https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/05/uk-signs-its-first-data-sharing-deal-post-brexit-with-south-korea/
https://upjobsnews.com/uk-signs-its-first-data-sharing-deal-post-brexit-with-south-korea-techcrunch-more-news-here/
https://behindthescreen.fr/uk-signs-its-first-data-sharing-deal-post-brexit-with-south-korea-dailytech/