Data Protection Act 2018 (c. 12) – Section 178 – Review of processing of personal data for the purposes of journalism

Sections

Section 178Review of processing of personal data for the purposes of journalism

(1) The [^F1Commission] must—

(a)
review the extent to which, during each review period, the processing of personal data for the purposes of journalism complied with—
- (i)
  the data protection legislation, and
- (ii)
  good practice in the processing of personal data for the purposes of journalism,
(b)
prepare a report of the review, and
(c)
submit the report to the Secretary of State.

(2) In this section—

“good practice in the processing of personal data for the purposes of journalism” has the same meaning as in section 124;
“review period” means—
- (a)
  the period of 4 years beginning with the day on which Chapter 2 of Part 2 of this Act comes into force, and
- (b)
  each subsequent period of 5 years beginning with the day after the day on which the previous review period ended.

(3) The [^F2Commission] must start a review under this section, in respect of a review period, within the period of 6 months beginning when the review period ends.

(4) The [^F3Commission] must submit the report of a review under this section to the Secretary of State—

(a)
^F4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(b)
^F5... before the end of the period of 12 months beginning when the [^F3Commission] started the review.

(5) The report must include consideration of the extent of compliance (as described in subsection (1)(a)) in each part of the United Kingdom.

(6) The Secretary of State must—

(a)
lay the report before Parliament, and
(b)
send a copy of the report to—
- (i)
  the Scottish Ministers,
- (ii)
  the Welsh Ministers, and
- (iii)
  the Executive Office in Northern Ireland.

(7) Schedule 17 makes further provision for the purposes of a review under this section.

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

F1 Word in s. 178(1) 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)
F2 Word in s. 178(3) 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)
F3 Word in s. 178(4) 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)
F4 S. 178(4)(a) omitted (30.9.2026) by virtue of 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(10)(a); S.I. 2026/1015, reg. 2(c)
F5 Words in s. 178(4)(b) omitted (30.9.2026) by virtue of 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(10)(b); S.I. 2026/1015, reg. 2(c)

Commencement Information

I1 S. 178 in force at 23.7.2018, see s. 212(3)(d)

https://dpa2018.digiphile.law/article/article-178.html

Text as at 18 September 2026.

This is an unofficial convenience version of the Data Protection Act 2018. It is presented “as is” without guarantee of accuracy, completeness or reliability. See the source text for the official version. This site was last updated in September 2026.