Data protection bill amended to protect security researchers

Exemption added after researchers said efforts to demonstrate inadequate anonymisation could fall foul of law

The government is to amend the data protection bill to protect security researchers who work to uncover abuses of personal data, quelling fears that the bill could accidentally criminalise legitimate research.

The move follows a Guardian report on the concerns, and has been welcomed by one of the researchers who raised the alarm. "I am very happy with the amendments," said Lukasz Olejnik, an independent cybersecurity and privacy researcher.