Data Protection Act 2018 (c. 12) – Section 188 – Representation of data subjects with their authority: collective proceedings

Sections

Section 188Representation of data subjects with their authority: collective proceedings

(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision for representative bodies to bring proceedings before a court or tribunal in England and Wales or Northern Ireland combining two or more relevant claims.

(2) In this section, “relevant claim”, in relation to a representative body, means a claim in respect of a right of a data subject which the representative body is authorised to exercise on the data subject's behalf under Article 80(1) of the [^F1UK GDPR] or section 187.

(3) The power under subsection (1) includes power—

(a)
to make provision about the proceedings;
(b)
to confer functions on a person, including functions involving the exercise of a discretion;
(c)
to make different provision in relation to England and Wales and in relation to Northern Ireland.

(4) The provision mentioned in subsection (3)(a) includes provision about—

(a)
the effect of judgments and orders;
(b)
agreements to settle claims;
(c)
the assessment of the amount of compensation;
(d)
the persons to whom compensation may or must be paid, including compensation not claimed by the data subject;
(e)
costs.

(5) Regulations under this section are subject to the negative resolution procedure.

Annotations

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 188(2) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 82 (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Commencement Information

I1 S. 188 in force at Royal Assent for specified purposes, see s. 212(2)(f)
I2 S. 188 in force at 23.7.2018 in so far as not already in force by S.I. 2018/625, reg. 3(e)

https://dpa2018.digiphile.law/article/article-188.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.