“(1) The 2018 Act is amended in accordance with subsections (2) and (3).

(2) Omit section 141 (notices from the Commissioner).

(3) After that section insert—

‘141A Notices from the Commissioner

(1) This section applies in relation to a notice authorised or required by this Act to be given to a person by the Commissioner.

(2) The notice may be given to the person by—

(a) delivering it by hand to a relevant individual,

(b) leaving it at the person’s proper address,

(c) sending it by post to the person at that address, or

(d) sending it by email to the person’s email address.

(3) A “relevant individual” means—

(a) in the case of a notice to an individual, that individual;

(b) in the case of a notice to a body corporate (other than a partnership), an officer of that body;

(c) in the case of a notice to a partnership, a partner in the partnership or a person who has the control or management of the partnership business;

(d) in the case of a notice to an unincorporated body (other than a partnership), a member of its governing body.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b) and (c), and section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978 (services of documents by post) in its application to those provisions, a person’s proper address is—

(a) in a case where the person has specified an address as one at which the person, or someone acting on the person’s behalf, will accept service of notices or other documents, that address;

(b) in any other case, the address determined in accordance with subsection (5).

(5) The address is—

(a) in a case where the person is a body corporate with a registered office in the United Kingdom, that office;

(b) in a case where paragraph (a) does not apply and the person is a body corporate, partnership or unincorporated body with a principal office in the United Kingdom, that office;

(c) in any other case, an address in the United Kingdom at which the Commissioner believes, on reasonable grounds, that the notice will come to the attention of the person.

(6) A person’s email address is—

(a) an email address published for the time being by that person as an address for contacting that person, or

(b) if there is no such published address, an email address by means of which the Commissioner believes, on reasonable grounds, that the notice will come to the attention of that person.

(7) A notice sent by email is treated as given 48 hours after it was sent, unless the contrary is proved.

(8) In this section “officer”, in relation to a body corporate, means a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body.

(9) This section does not limit other lawful means of giving a notice.’

(4) In Schedule 2 to the Electronic Identification and Trust Services for Electronic Transactions Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/696) (Commissioner’s enforcement powers), in paragraph 1(b), for ‘141’ substitute ‘141A’.”—(Sir John Whittingdale.)

This amendment adjusts the procedure by which notices can be given by the Information Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 2018. In particular, it enables the Information Commissioner to give notices by email without obtaining the consent of the recipient to use that mode of delivery.

Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.