header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
20 April 2018 / Mette Marie Sutton , Patrick Wheeler
Issue: 7789 / Categories: Features , Data protection
printer mail-detail

GDPR: a weapon of mass disruption?

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
nlj_7789_wheeler

Patrick Wheeler & Mette Marie Sutton explain how increased data subject access rights could wreak havoc

  • A co-ordinated set of requests by a large number of individuals made at the same time could be time consuming, expensive & cause huge disruption.

Most businesses should be aware that EU data protection law is changing as a result of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into force in the UK (and across the EU) on 25 May 2018.

GDPR builds on the previous Data Protection Regulation by giving individuals greater power to access and exercise control over their personal data: one example of this are the new rules regarding data subject access requests (DSARs). However, there is concern that the changes to DSARs could encourage individuals to use them as a weapon against businesses processing their personal data. So what exactly is the threat and how can a business manage the associated risks?

GDPR establishes sets of obligations and rights. The obligations include processing personal data lawfully, fairly and

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Arc Pensions Law—Matthew Swynnerton

Arc Pensions Law—Matthew Swynnerton

Chair of the Association of Pension Lawyers joins as partner

Ampa Group—Kamal Chauhan

Ampa Group—Kamal Chauhan

Group names Shakespeare Martineau partner head of Sheffield office

Blake Morgan—four promotions

Blake Morgan—four promotions

Four legal directors promoted to partner across UK offices

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Renters’ Rights revolution begins—brace for tribunal chaos

The abolition of assured shorthold tenancies and section 21 evictions marks the beginning of a ‘brave new world’ for England’s rental sector, writes Daniel Bacon of Seddons GSC

NLJ this week: Civil procedure gets a spring overhaul
Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way column rounds up a flurry of procedural and regulatory changes reshaping housing, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and personal injury litigation
NLJ this week: Why GP complaints are going nowhere
Patients are being systematically failed by an NHS complaints regime that is opaque, poorly enforced and often stacked against them, argues Charles Davey of The Barrister Group
NLJ this week: Prenups meet a jurisdictional brick wall
A wealthy Russian divorce battle has produced a sharp warning about trying to challenge foreign nuptial agreements in the wrong English court. Writing in NLJ this week, Vanessa Friend and Robert Jackson of Hodge Jones & Allen examine Timokhin v Timokhina, where the High Court enforced Russian judgments arising from a prenuptial agreement despite arguments based on the landmark Radmacher decision
NLJ this week: Has Rylands v Fletcher come back from the dead?
An obscure Victorian tort may be heading for an unexpected revival after a significant Privy Council ruling that could reshape liability for dangerous escapes, according to Richard Buckley, barrister and emeritus professor of law at the University of Reading
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll