The King’s Speech: Digital Information and Smart Data Bill

Following the formation of a labour government earlier this month, the King's Speech has now provided greater clarity on the new government’s roadmap for legislative reform. The King’s Speech has been eagerly awaited by many, not least those in the digital identity space, whom will be pleased to see the government has committed to progressing the regulatory framework for digital identities in the UK by presenting the new Digital Information and Smart Data Bill (DISD Bill).

Recent updates

In June, following the dissolution of parliament prior to the general election, we reported on the fact that the then incumbent government failed to pass the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (DPDI Bill) in the parliamentary wash-up. The DPDI Bill had been receiving legislative scrutiny prior to the announcement of a general election, but the dissolution of parliament prior to its receiving royal assent meant that the DPDI Bill would never become law.

Many hoped that the passage of the DPDI Bill would be the key foundation in establishing a statutory regime for digital identify verification technologies in the UK, with the ultimate aim being encouraging their adoption and use. The collapse of the DPDI Bill, therefore, curtailed or at the very least delayed the realisation of these hopes.

Next steps

The announcement of the DISD Bill will provide some reassurance for those operating in the digital identity space, as it may serve as an indication that the progress that had been made with the DPDI Bill will not be lost entirely. The King’s Speech indicated that the government estimates the “widespread use around the UK” of secure digital identities will produce £600 million per year in economic benefit, so the commitment to achieving this goal is understandable. However, the contents of the DISD Bill remain unclear and the exact direction that the new government’s legislative program will take as regards digital identities will only become visible in the coming days. The King’s Speech does indicate that the government’s motive in promoting the use of digital identities will be geared towards helping “with things like moving house, pre-employment checks, and buying age restricted goods and services”, so the application of digital identities to right to work and right to rent checks may continue, and the outcomes of the consultation conducted on using digital identities for age verification when purchasing alcohol may hold future relevance.

What is clear is that establishing a framework for digital identity verification technologies in the UK will form part of labour’s new legislative programme. For now, the beta version of the UK digital identity and attributes trust framework (DIATF) will remain in place and the government’s future plans for the DIATF (i.e. whether it will be developed further or tailed back) should be revealed in the coming days.

We will report on any further updates when they are announced.