A warning has been issued by Japan in the wake of the UK’s Brexit vote regarding the continued free transfer of data once the UK leaves the European Union.
In a document released to the UK and the EU, Japan’s foreign ministry warned about uncertainty following the vote and what it could mean for Japanese businesses which have long made the UK their home.
One of the main concerns Japan raised is, “maintaining the current level of information protection and the free transfer of data.”
The document said: “To maintain the level of information protection and free transfer of data.
“Once the UK is no longer bound by the EU’s data protection legislation, the smooth cross-border transfer of personal data between the UK and the EU may become difficult. This could affect ICT businesses conducting data centre operations based on their establishment in the UK with declining demand from data centre users such as Cloud operators managing personal data within the EU.
“Furthermore, the transfer of information between a parent company and its subsidiaries could be affected.”
Currently there is not a completely clear picture of how EU data protection legislation will affect the UK once it leaves. While it is known that the General Data Protection regulation will still apply regardless of the UKs membership in the EU. This will be the case for any organisation ordering goods or services to EU citizens.
However, there is no consensus as to whether or not the UK will keep all of the EU’s data protection rules or devise its own.
Japans concerns regarding IT businesses conducting data centre operations in the UK may not be one that is felt by every vendor. Amazon Web Services for example has already reiterated its desire to continue expanding its data centre footprint in the country.
Much of the problem appears to be a lack a transparency, which is why Japan is asking for the UK and EU to provide information about ongoing negotiations with advance warnings of any changes.
The document said: “What Japanese businesses in Europe most wish to avoid is the situation in which that they are unable to discern clearly the way the Brexit negotiations are going, only grasping the whole picture at the last minute.”
Additional requests in the document were for uniform intellectual property rights across the EU and UK, and for Japanese businesses based in the UK to be able to employ Europeans.
Research desires were also laid out: “To allow Japanese businesses in the UK to continue their participation in various R&D projects and to obtain subsidies even after the UK’s withdrawal.” The document additionally called for the establishment of a framework that would allow British researchers to continue to participate in Japan-EU joint research projects.
