UK Wants To Replace Cookie Pop-Ups With Browser-Based Opt-Outs

The U.K. government has published its final response to a data 'reform' consultation it kicked off last year, laying out how it intends to diverge from EU-based data protection rules. From a report: At first pass, it looks like it has stepped away from some of the more extreme 'reforms' it had been tossing around -- such as removing the right for human review of automated/AI decisions; which the consultation admits was opposed by the "vast majority" of respondents (ergo, the government writes that it "recognises the importance of appropriate safeguards, and will not pursue this proposal"; although it says it's still considering how to amend Article 22 of the U.K. GDPR -- so watch that space). That said, there are still a lot of potentially wide-ranging amendments being announced in this package -- such as a switch to an opt-out model for most online tracking; which the government is spinning as an end to cookie consent pop-ups but which raises plenty of wider questions -- and changes to the U.K.'s data protection regulator that could still sum to substantial differences for the rights of citizens, businesses and other types of data processors operating in the country. There's plenty more incoming from the U.K. government on the digital policy front too -- such as the sprawling Online Safety Bill, which is currently making its way through parliament, and is set to dramatically ramp up compliance demands for all sorts of businesses. So it pays to keep the wider picture in mind as the government spins its pitch of post-Brexit, rebooted data laws that will give British business a "boost" by cutting EU 'red tape.'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.