Without a Brexit deal, there is a risk of data chaos

The consequences of broken negotiations for IT Without a Brexit deal, there is a risk of data chaos

The negotiations on the Privacy Shield Agreement with the USA have shown how difficult an agreement on data protection can be. Now it is time for the EU to conclude a similar deal with Great Britain. Failure to do this can lead to data chaos.

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A so-called no-deal Brexit could lead to data chaos.

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The UK left the European Union (EU) at the end of January. In a transition phase, long-term relations between the UK and the EU are to be negotiated by December 31, 2020. The deadline is getting closer and closer and an agreement is not yet in sight. This not only has an impact on the movement of people and goods, but also on data.

If Great Britain leaves without an agreement, German companies will have to deal with British business partners, customers, data centers and IT service providers as they would with a third country. Data traffic between EU countries and Great Britain would therefore be made more difficult.

“Great Britain will leave the single market and customs union for good. If there is no deal, data chaos threatens. The free flow of data between Germany or the EU and the British Isles would be interrupted. The United Kingdom is one of the most important locations for data processing, for example in the areas of logistics, customer relationships and mobility. That has grown historically. Almost every large company, but also medium-sized companies and startups in Germany and Europe exchange data with locations on the island. These connections cannot be cut overnight “, warns Bitkom President Achim Berg:

Check data protection level

In addition to the negotiations on the trade agreement, which would have to be concluded and ratified by the end of the month, the EU Commission is required to take a so-called adequacy decision in order to maintain data traffic. This includes checking the level of data protection in the UK and confirming its compatibility with European data protection law. This would ensure a free flow of data without legal uncertainty. The difficult negotiations on the Privacy Shield Agreement with the USA already gave an impression of how difficult it is to achieve such an agreement.