Portsmouth firm release guide on new legislation

Blake Morgan, a company with offices in Portsmouth and Southampton, states that businesses could be liable for fines of up to £17m or 4 per cent of their worldwide turnover.

The law firm warns that many organisations across the public and private sectors are not prepared for the changes as it launches a free guide on its website to mark the one-year countdown to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

GDPR comes into force on May 25 next year, and all organisations which retain or process personal information will need to comply.

Data Protection experts have warned about how clients must now handle personal data.

Bruce Potter, chairman of Blake Morgan, said: ‘We are now just a year away from a major shake-up of information governance laws at a European level and it’s fair to say that many businesses and public sector organisations are underprepared.

‘The huge growth of the digital economy in recent years requires a more robust legal framework to ensure public confidence in the protection of information and organisations now need to adapt to these standards.’