Data flows between Jersey and the UK post-Brexit: a Data Protection Update

Whether there is an orderly Brexit or a no-deal Brexit, from 29 March 2019 the UK will become, in GDPR terms, a 'third country'.

Jersey's finance industry relies heavily on the free flow of personal data between Jersey and the UK. In order to safeguard this position post-Brexit, the Jersey legislation is set to be amended to explicitly exclude the UK from being regarded as a third country. This will have the effect of maintaining the status quo, allowing data to continue to flow from Jersey to the UK without local organisations being forced to put in place the additional safeguards that are usually required before transferring data to a third country, such as standard contractual clauses or binding corporate rules.

In terms of data flows from the UK to Jersey post-Brexit, the UK Government has said that it intends to preserve the effect of existing EU adequacy decisions meaning that data can continue to flow freely from the UK to Jersey.

Both of these measures will be transitional, but it is expected that the UK will have gained EU equivalence before the end of the relevant transition period.

For more information, please contact Richard Le Liard, Sonia Minns or Edward Drummond.