As the draft UK Data (Use and Access) Bill (the “DUA Bill”) reaches its final stages, the House of Commons and the House of Lords are still debating several key issues. On May 14, 2025, the House of Commons received a program motion, urging it to deliberate on the amendments proposed by the House of Lords on May 12, 2025. The latest amendments introduced by the House of Lords include:

• Scientific Data: Limiting the scope of the ‘scientific data’ provision by setting a higher standard for the reasonableness test such that “scientific research must be conducted according to appropriate ethical, legal and professional frameworks, obligations and standards.” This amendment is contrary to the position taken by the House of Commons, which proposed expanding the scope of the ‘scientific data’ provision by removing the requirement for the processing of ‘scientific data’ to be conducted in the ‘public interest.’
• AI Models: Introducing transparency requirements for business data used in relation to AI models. The amendment would require developers of AI models to publish all information used in the pre-training, training, fine-tuning and retrieval-augmented generation of the AI model, and to provide a mechanism for copyright owners to identify any individual works they own that may have been used during such processes. The amendment also introduces transparency obligations in respect of “bots,” including the requirement to disclose information on the (1) name of the bot, (2) responsible legal entity the bot, and (3) specific purpose for which each bot is used.
• Sex Data: Introducing requirements for ‘sex data’ to be collected in the context of digital verification services.

The House of Commons will now consider such amendments. With the DUA Bill’s progress accelerating, it is anticipated that the DUA Bill will soon be finalized.

Read the latest amendments proposed by the House of Lords.

For more information on the DUA Bill, read our previous update on the DUA Bill.