Ahead of the return of the Data (Use and Access) Bill (DUA Bill) for its second reading in the House of Commons (HC) on Wednesday, 12 February 2025, the HC's Library published a report outlining the Bill's policy objectives and what it would do, along with a summary of its passage through the House of Lords. The Bill will now undergo line-by-line review by a Public Bill Committee and is expected to report to the House by 18 March 2025.
Meanwhile, Information Commissioner John Edwards published his updated comments on the amendments made in the House of Lords and other key areas of the debate. In particular, Commissioner Edwards welcomed the "additional clarity" provided by an amendment to include further duties, including to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), that "children merit specific protection with regard to their personal data".
In addition, Commissioner Edwards noted the government's commitment to using its secondary legislation powers to require the ICO to produce two new codes of practice: the first covering automated decision-making and artificial intelligence (AI) and the second addressing ed-tech.
In a related post, the Open Rights Group has posted a briefing on their concerns with the DUA Bill. These include how the Bill removes important protections for automated decision-making and AI, reduces transparency, particularly in the field of AI, provides arbitrary and unaccountable powers to the Secretary of State, lowers accountability over how data is shared and accessed for law enforcement and other public security purposes, and does not address the issues surrounding the ICO's failing victims of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and other vulnerable groups.
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