A UK-US data bridge could be well on the way as the Prime Minister and US President Joe Biden announced a commitment in principle.

The agreement could lead to the establishment of  a UK Extension to the Data Privacy Framework, which would see the creation of a new ‘data bridge’ between the two countries.

US companies who are approved to join the framework would be able to receive UK personal data under the new data bridge.

The United States is one of the UK’s leading trading partners in data-enabled exports. In 2021, 93% of the UK’s services exports were data-enabled, and the UK exported more than £79 billion of these services (about 30%) of the UK’s total data-enabled services exports) to the US.

Despite this relationship, the government has claimed that redtape, in the form of explicit clauses businesses must make with consumers to share their data oversees, has made this a cumbersome process.

Most UK businesses who want to send personal data to a service provider or company in the US must have contract clauses in place to ensure protection and privacy standards are maintained.

The ‘data bridge’ would remove the necessity for this process by making it easier for British businesses to operate and trade internationally without these specific clauses.

Importantly the deal in not yet finalised, as the UK continues to investigate the data laws and boundaries in the US to make sure UK citizens maintain their data sovereignty.

In a joint statement released by both governments, the UK-US data bridge would essentially be an extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF) “subject to finalising the UK’s assessment of US data protection laws and practices.”

The DPF is currently still underworks as the EU attempts to make data sharing capabilities easier with US companies while maintaining EU citizens’ rights under GDPR.

Recently, the EU set a record fine at Meta for their transfer of EU data to the US under the basis of  “standard contractual clauses.”

The main concerns of other governments with data sharing in the US is the starkly different data regulations – the US has far less protections for data privacy than the EU and UK, and data in the US can be subject to government investigation and monitoring, which is against GDPR.

As many Cloud companies are based in the US, the EU’s recent ruling against Meta could put these other companies at risk of fines if they do not meet GDPR compliance.

Currently, the EU has noted progress in the recent draft of the EU-US DPF, as the new Executive Order introduced in the legislation would require “necessity and proportionality with regard to U.S. intelligence-gathering of data (signals intelligence).”

The UK hopes for an extension of this potential partnership, saying they will formally consult the Information Commissioner per the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018, to account for the protection of personal data.

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This is not the first data-bridge the UK has attempted, as it currently has a similar arrangement in place with other countries including the Republic of Korea, with which UK businesses are now able to share personal data securely without restrictions.

If the UK-US data-bridge goes ahead, UK organisations of any size may not have to go through any contractual basis to share personal data with the US.

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Chloe Smith, said: “This commitment in principle is the result of 2 years of positive and productive discussions with the United States. Data bridges not only offer simpler avenues for the safe transfer of personal data between countries, but also remove red tape for businesses of all sizes and allow them to access new markets.

“International collaboration is key to our science and technology superpower ambitions, and working with global partners like the United States ensures we can open new opportunities to grow our innovation economy.”