"Today, the Government announced their draft Data Protection bill — which includes a raft of measures that will improve all our privacy online. It is good news that the Conservatives are finally agreeing to take action to strengthen people’s privacy online. But once again the government is trying to take credit for rules that were already agreed at EU level," the party said in a press release.
According to the Liberal Democrats, imposing new rules would be necessary if UK digital companies wanted to continue working in Europe after Brexit.
"The Brexiteer myth that leaving the EU would mean regaining sovereignty is being exposed yet again," the statement said.
The new law will give UK citizens more control over their personal information online while also significantly increasing fines for violations of data law. It also brings the relevant UK laws in compliance with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will come into force on May 25, 2018.
