Changes to newly-introduced data protection regulations will be debated in Tynwald next week.

New EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules on controlling and processing personal data came into force on May 25 last year.

Although the island has never been a member of the European Union, any organisation here that carries out business with Europe must comply with GDPR or face hefty fines.

The Manx government reviewed and revising the island’s own data protection law to ensure full compliance with GDPR.

A new basis for data protection in the island, the GDPR and Law Enforcement Directive implementing regulations, were approved by the Manx parliament in July last year.

These regulations set out the provision for the implementation of the EU legislation.

When consultation on the draft measures was carried out, a commitment was given to revise the regulations in relation to enforcement powers and any further exemptions that might be required.

The Cabinet Office carried out the public consultation in October and November last year and received 15 responses.

Now a series of amendments approved by the Information Commissioner will go before Tynwald.

New exemptions and conditions have been added, existing provisions updated and certain areas clarified for ease of reading and interpretation.

An explanatory memorandum laid before the court states that the updates are intended to ensure that the regulations ’are and remain fit for purpose’.

It states that the amendments set out to address previous concerns raised by the Information Commissioner and requests following consultation.

They will remain in place until repealed by a new Act, which will create a statutory authority with equivalent enforcement powers.

This, in turn, will provide a basis for new primary legislation and the island’s formal reassessment.

The note to Tynwald states that the majority of the proposals resulted directly or indirectly from the Information Commissioner’s feedback to ensure any restrictions on the provisions are not such that they hamper effective use of enforcement powers.

It states: ’The proposals to update these provisions need to be balanced with the need to ensure that the powers have effective safeguards and are proportionate to the risks involved.’

The memo states this is particularly the case while the Information Commissioner remains a sole office holder, until the introduction of a new supervisory authority.