Computer & Communication Industry Association

Freshwater Strategy UK Data Regulation Survey

PublishedOctober 11, 2026
Written By
  • Freshwater Strategy

Freshwater Strategy has conducted a quantitative survey of 113 senior decision-makers at British technology and data-intensive businesses, looking at both the compliance cost and broader economic opportunity costs of data regulation. The study measures the £5bn-a-year compliance cost of UK data protection regulation on technology businesses. A majority of businesses (57%) describe UK data protection regulation as a burden, and 69% say compliance costs have risen over the last 5-10 years, including firms of every size reporting an increase and no respondent reporting a decrease.

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