On 19 February 2021, the European Commission launched the process towards the adoption of two adequacy decisions for transfers of personal data to the United Kingdom, one under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the other for the Law Enforcement Directive. The Commission has been assessing the UK's law and practice on personal data protection, including the rules on access to data by public authorities and has concluded that the UK ensures an equivalent level of protection to the one guaranteed under both the GDPR and Law Enforcement Directive.
The draft decisions, once fully adopted, will be valid for period of four years, after which it will be possible to renew the adequacy finding, so long as the level of protection in the UK continues to be considered adequate. The next steps in the process will be for the Commission to seek the the opinion of the European Data Protection Board, followed by a request to Member States' representatives to approve the proposed decision. After this, the European Commission will be able to adopt the final adequacy decisions for the UK.
Until the adoption data of the adequacy decisions, the flow of data between the European Economic Area and the UK will continue as a result interim regime agreed as part of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. This interim period expires on 30 June 2021. You can read more about the launch of the process here: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_661
