If you do business in the UK and the EU, “GDPR compliance” is no longer a single checkbox. Since Brexit, the UK has its own version of the General Data Protection Regulation: the UK GDPR. Most of it mirrors the EU GDPR, but the differences show up exactly where teams feel compliance pain: cross‑border transfers, contracts, regulator expectations, and a growing set of UK-specific reforms.
This article explains what the UK GDPR is, how it compares to the EU GDPR, and how to run a practical privacy program that works across both regimes.
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1. What Is the UK GDPR?
The UK GDPR is the United Kingdom’s domestic version of the General Data Protection Regulation. It forms the backbone of UK data protection law, but it doesn’t stand alone: it operates together with the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) (which supplements and tailors certain GDPR concepts for UK law) and with sector-specific privacy rules such as PECR (the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations), especially relevant for cookies, marketing, and electronic communications.
From a practical, day-to-day compliance perspective, it helps to think of the UK GDPR like this:
- The core GDPR framework stayed: the same structure, familiar concepts, and the same “accountability” model (principles, lawful bases, transparency, security, data subject rights, DPIAs, vendor governance, etc.).
- The UK can now update the framework independently: even if the UK starts from the same baseline, future amendments and guidance can gradually diverge from EU practice, especially in operational areas like international transfers, cookies, and compliance workflows.
- The UK regulator is the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), with its own guidance, enforcement priorities, and templates.
In other words: if you already understand EU GDPR, you already understand most of UK GDPR. The difference is not that the UK created a completely new privacy system, it’s that the UK is now on its own track for specific rules, guidance, and reforms.
We cover the UK-specific compliance “pressure points” and the practical differences from EU GDPR in Section 4 of this blog, because that’s where the UK GDPR typically changes what you need to do (or at least what you need to double-check).
2. Why “UK GDPR vs EU GDPR” Matters
If your organisation only operates in the UK, the distinction may feel small. But the moment you have UK↔EU customers, vendors, employees, or infrastructure, you run into questions like:
- Do we need UK wording in our privacy notices?
- Which transfer mechanism covers this data flow?
- Do we need an EU representative, a UK representative, or both?
- Which regulator do we talk to if there’s a complaint or breach?
Both laws are extra-territorial.
EU GDPR can apply to organisations outside the EU/EEA when:
- they offer goods or services to individuals in the EU/EEA (even if the service is free), or
- they monitor behaviour of individuals in the EU/EEA (for example: tracking, profiling, behavioural advertising, analytics used to single users out or predict behaviour).
UK GDPR can apply to organisations outside the UK in the same way when:
- they offer goods or services to individuals in the UK, or
- they monitor behaviour of individuals in the UK.
A key practical point: it’s not enough that someone from the UK/EU can technically access your website. Regulators typically look for signs of intentional targeting: for example, UK/EU-facing marketing, local currency/pricing, shipping to that region, local language or country-specific pages, or directing ads at users in that territory.
So the practical task isn’t “Are we GDPR compliant?” – it’s “Which processing falls under which regime?”
3. What Stayed the Same
Good news: the UK GDPR is still very close to the EU GDPR. The ICO emphasises that GDPR is “retained in domestic law as the UK GDPR” and that “the key principles, rights and obligations remain the same.”
For most organisations, that means you can reuse the same core building blocks:
- a data map / ROPA (Record of Processing Activities);
- a lawful basis model (consent/contract/legal obligation/etc.);
- DPIAs for higher-risk processing;
- security controls and breach readiness;
- individual rights workflows (access, deletion, portability, objection, etc.);
- vendor/processor due diligence and contracts.
If you’ve already built a solid EU GDPR program, you’re not starting from scratch for the UK.
4. The Differences That Actually Matter
Despite broad alignment, several UK‑specific differences can change what you do in practice.
4.1 Regulators and cross‑border oversight
The UK regulator is the ICO. In the EU, enforcement is handled by Member State supervisory authorities with coordination via EU mechanisms and the EDPB.
This isn’t a “rights” difference, but it’s an operational one:
- different guidance libraries,
- different enforcement style and priorities,
- different processes for multi‑jurisdiction matters.
If you operate in both the EU and the UK, plan for parallel regulator-facing playbooks.
4.2 Fine maxima (same structure, different numbers)
The UK keeps the GDPR two‑tier fining structure, but the published statutory maxima under UK GDPR/DPA 2018 are:
- £8.7 million or 2% of worldwide turnover (standard maximum), and
- £17.5 million or 4% of worldwide turnover (higher maximum),
depending on the type of infringement and whether the entity is an “undertaking”. In this context, “undertaking” is understood as the wider economic unit (often a corporate group), meaning the turnover-based cap can be calculated using the group’s worldwide turnover – not just the revenue of the specific legal entity involved.
EU GDPR uses euro‑denominated maxima (commonly stated as €10m/2% and €20m/4%), so the model is familiar, but values differ.
4.3 International transfers: UK uses IDTA / UK Addendum (EU SCCs alone are not enough)
This is one of the most common “UK GDPR vs EU GDPR” mistakes.
Under UK GDPR, the ICO provides two sets of standard data protection clauses for restricted transfers:
- IDTA (International Data Transfer Agreement);
- UK Addendum (an add‑on to the EU SCCs).
The key point: EU SCCs are not valid on their own for UK restricted transfers, but you can use EU SCCs + the UK Addendum to cover UK flows.
If your company operates in both the UK and EEA, the Addendum can be a practical way to keep one contract stack (when applied consistently).
4.4 Adequacy: EU↔UK data flows are currently smooth, but it’s not “set and forget”
For transfers from the EEA to the UK, the EU has adequacy decisions for the UK. The ICO notes that the European Commission renewed those adequacy decisions on 19 December 2025, and they last until 27 December 2031.
In many cases, that means EEA organisations can send personal data to the UK without needing SCCs (within the scope of the decision).
On the UK side, the ICO also notes that the UK government has adequacy regulations for transfers to organisations in each EEA country, making UK↔EEA flows comparatively straightforward when structured properly.
Even so, adequacy decisions are time‑bound and monitored. Mature privacy teams keep a fallback plan (eg SCCs/Addendum readiness) rather than assuming adequacy can never change.
4.5 Representatives: “EU rep” vs “UK rep”
Brexit created a new administrative layer for some companies:
- If you’re established outside the EU but target/monitor individuals in the EU, you may need an EU representative.
- If you’re established outside the UK but target/monitor individuals in the UK, you may need a UK representative.
The ICO explicitly recognises that organisations operating across the UK and EU regimes may need to address representative questions in both directions.
4.6 Children and online services: UK “digital consent” age is 13
If you offer an information society service (ISS) directly to children and rely on consent, UK GDPR Article 8 sets the relevant age at 13. Below 13 requires parental authorisation.
In the EU, the default is 16 but Member States can set it lower (down to 13), so EU implementation can vary. The UK is consistent at 13 for this Article 8 scenario, which matters for product design and consent flows.
4.7 UK reform drift: the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA)
The DUAA received Royal Assent on 19 June 2025 and amends UK data protection and privacy rules, with staged commencement. The ICO also notes that some DUAA provisions began coming into force in August 2025.
Several DUAA changes are especially relevant when comparing UK GDPR to EU GDPR in practice:
- Automated decision‑making (ADM): a more permissive framework for certain solely automated decisions, while requiring safeguards like transparency, ability to challenge, and human intervention.
- Subject access (DSAR/SAR): clarified timing and a “stop the clock” concept when more information is needed from the requester.
- Recognised Legitimate Interests: a UK mechanism intended to give organisations more certainty for specified activities (eg crime prevention, safeguarding, emergencies).
- Complaints handling: clearer expectations for how organisations handle complaints (including an electronic route and outcome communication).
- Cookies and similar technologies: permission to use certain storage/access technologies without explicit consent in specified low‑risk cases.
These are not “GDPR 2.0” changes, but they create real process differences if you run a single global DSAR workflow, a single cookie implementation, or high‑impact automated decisions.
5. Do You Need to Comply with Both UK GDPR and GDPR?
A simple way to think about it:
- EU GDPR is triggered by an EU establishment or by targeting/monitoring individuals in the EU.
- UK GDPR is triggered by a UK establishment or by targeting/monitoring individuals in the UK.
Common real‑world scenarios:
- UK company with EU users → likely UK GDPR + EU GDPR for EU‑facing processing
- EU company with UK users → likely EU GDPR + UK GDPR for UK‑facing processing
- Non‑EU/non‑UK company targeting both markets → potentially both regimes, plus representative requirements
Dual compliance is now normal for SaaS, e‑commerce, apps, adtech, and global B2B vendors.
6. A Practical Two‑Regime Compliance Approach (Without Doubling the Work)
The most sustainable approach is: one core privacy program + jurisdiction overlays.
Here’s a practical checklist:
- One data inventory, tagged by regime
Maintain one ROPA/data map, but tag activities by UK, EEA, or both, plus the transfer mechanism (adequacy vs SCCs/Addendum vs IDTA).
- Modular privacy notices
Keep one notice structure, then add UK‑specific and EU‑specific modules (regulator/representative details, transfer language, complaint route, etc.).
- DSAR workflow that can handle UK nuances
Build a single DSAR (Data Subject Access Request) pipeline, but ensure it can implement UK timing/clarification steps introduced by the DUAA without missing deadlines.
- Deliberate transfer documentation
For UK restricted transfers, use IDTA or EU SCCs + UK Addendum. Don’t assume EU SCCs alone cover UK flows.
- Representative checks at launch time
When you enter a market (or start targeting it), confirm whether you need an EU rep, UK rep, or both, then keep that decision documented.
- Monitor UK reforms as they commence
Because DUAA changes roll out in stages, treat the “UK overlay” as a living control set you review periodically.
7. How Whisperly Helps Teams Manage UK + EU GDPR
Most UK/EU GDPR programs fail in the gaps: documentation drift, unclear ownership, inconsistent contract stacks, and DSAR deadlines scattered across inboxes.
A privacy operations platform like Whisperly can help by centralising the work that must stay current:
- a living ROPA/data map tagged by jurisdiction,
- consistent evidence of lawful basis and retention logic,
- DSAR intake, tracking, and deadline management,
- vendor/processor records and transfer contract stacks (EU SCCs, UK Addendum, IDTA),
- audit-ready exports for customers, regulators, and internal reviews.
The goal is one scalable privacy program with the right UK and EU “switches” so your compliance posture stays strong as both regimes evolve.
Final takeaway
The UK GDPR is a close sibling of the EU GDPR, not a different species. But the differences that matter, such as transfers, adequacy, representatives, and UK reforms like the DUAA, are exactly the areas that create operational risk if you assume “GDPR is GDPR.”
Build one privacy foundation, then maintain lightweight UK and EU overlays. That’s how you stay compliant without doubling your workload.
