Data Protection Act 2018UK · 2018 c. 12
Digiphile

Sections

Section 176Staying special purposes proceedings

(1) In any special purposes proceedings before a court, if the controller or processor claims, or it appears to the court, that any personal data to which the proceedings relate—
  • (a)
    is being processed only for the special purposes,
  • (b)
    is being processed with a view to the publication by any person of journalistic, academic, artistic or literary material, and
  • (c)
    has not previously been published by the controller,

the court must stay or, in Scotland, sist the proceedings.

(2) In considering, for the purposes of subsection (1)(c), whether material has previously been published, publication in the immediately preceding 24 hours is to be ignored.
(3) Under subsection (1), the court must stay or sist the proceedings until either of the following conditions is met—
  • (a)
    a determination of the [F1Commission] under section 174 with respect to the personal data or the processing takes effect;
  • (b)
    where the proceedings were stayed or sisted on the making of a claim, the claim is withdrawn.

Amended text

This Section is shown as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (c. 18), among other instruments (see the annotations below) (commenced provisions as at 30 September 2026, ELI), as incorporated in the text in force on 30 September 2026 as published on legislation.gov.uk.

Annotations

Textual Amendments

  1. F1 Word in s. 176(3)(a) substituted (30.9.2026) by The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/386), reg. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 23(2)(3); S.I. 2026/1015, reg. 2(c)

Commencement Information

  1. I1 S. 176 in force at 25.5.2018 by S.I. 2018/625, reg. 2(1)(f)