Following years of delay and uncertainty, the United Kingdom has officially left the European Union. There will be many changes to come when it comes to how we do business with the EU and although the effects of web hosting may not be your main worry, it’s an important thing to keep up with to make sure you are compliant in the aftermath of Brexit.
Even though this is such an important topic for so many, there is conflicting information out there on which steps to take in order to make sure your company is in compliance with current legislation if you are or use an EU-based web host.
According to GOV.UK, The eCommerce Directive no longer applies to the UK now that the transition period is over and if you are a provider of online services, you should take steps in response to these changes. Depending on the nature of your online services you may already be complying with the requirements and this could mean that there are little or no immediate changes that you need to make to be compliant.
However, The EU has the world’s most stringent data protection laws and although the UK has now left the European Union, part of its legislation requires that any data held on EU citizens that is stored on servers outside of the EU must have the same level of protection as that which is stored inside the EU.
GOV.UK also states that the government intends to fully remove the eCommerce Directive’s Country of Origin principle from UK legislation, to bring EEA online service providers in scope of UK laws, which they were previously exempt from. As this principle is found in a number of pieces of legislation it will be removed in sections in months or years to come, when Parliamentary time allows.
Although we have some guidelines on what the future of web hosting holds, it’s essential for you to consider your current situation and if switching hosting providers could be the right choice for you. Here at Datacentreplus, we always go above and beyond to make sure our customers get a tailored experience to suit their needs, especially if they need advice on choosing the correct services for their needs.
Alongside a range of hosting solutions, we also offer colocation and remote working services that could ease your struggles during this lockdown and the transition period as we move forward with Brexit. To have a chat with one of our friendly team about what we could offer your business, call us on 0161 464 6101, email at hello@datacentreplus.co.uk
or feel free to go on our website and chat with us directly – we’re online and happy to help!
