Data Protection Updates

ICO Launches Guidance on ‘Consent or Pay’ Cookie Terms

In January, the ICO published a detailed guidance note on what factors companies running a ‘consent or pay’ model for cookies should consider. The guidance is particularly timely, with numerous websites (including news tabloids) pay-walling content behind cookies policies; either the end user consents to a cookies policy or pays a fee to access said content. A key factor highlighted by ICO guidance includes whether an individual’s consent is freely given and whether there is a clear imbalance between the parties; for example, where an individual relies on a service and refusal of consent leads to some inherent detriment, then a consent or pay model may be problematic in this instance.

The full guidance document can be located here.

Government Announces Plans for GOV.UK Wallet

The government outlined plans for the release of a GOV.UK wallet to streamline the usability of official documents. The GOV.UK wallet aims to function similarly to other multi-use digital wallets like the Google wallet, with the GOV.UK wallet acting as safe digital storage for official government documents. The user would be able to use the GOV.UK wallet to verify information including their identity and if they are eligible for certain services. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle clarified the GOV.UK wallet will include crucial documents such as DBS checks, which should save people time from having to find the physical version. The GOV.UK wallet is not yet available for use.

More information can be found here.