Trans people are worried about the proposed UK Data Bill amendment– here’s what you can do about it

A newly proposed amendment to the UK’s Data Bill has left trans people across the UK extremely concerned about their privacy, but what exactly is at stake?

Changes to the Data (Use and Access) Bill proposed over the weekend would drastically change the way data on sex and gender is collected in the UK.

Proposed by shadow technology minister and Tory MP, Dr Ben Spencer, the amendments would force public authorities to collect data on members of the public on the basis of sex at birth rather than through up-to-date documentation.

If passed, the amendment could force public bodies, including the NHS and the DVLA, to update sex data to match sex at birth rather than using gender recognition documents such as a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), which allows trans people to update their legal gender on personal documents.

Not only would this forcibly out every trans person on public records, but it could also see “inaccurate” data completely erased and vital documents of trans people, including medical records, purged entirely.

It comes after a review into gender data collection in the UK argued that acknowledging GRCs has resulted in a “widespread loss of data on sex” and requested authorities use “biological sex” as an indicator instead.

The review was heavily criticised as “biased” and “factually incorrect” by nonprofit groups who argued that lead professor Dr Alice Sullivan’s association with ‘gender-critical’ group Sex Matters compromised her position.

A vote on whether to pass the amendments is set to take place on Wednesday (7 May) in anticipation of the amended bill’s final passage into law.

Members of the public, as well as various groups, have urged MPs to reject Spencer’s amendments over fears it could “completely remove trans people’s rights to privacy,” and urged those concerned to write to their MP opposing the changes.

Journalist and trans influencer, India Willoughby, called the amendments “pure persecution” in a series of posts, asking: “How will they actually reclaim [or] cancel passports?

Others have noted that the amendments also violate multiple laws, including the Gender Recognition Act, the 2010 Equality Act, the Human Rights Act, and is also a breach of GDPR.

What does the amended Data Bill say and why will it affect trans people?

In the proposed amendments, Dr Ben Spencer writes that public bodies collecting gender-based data on members of the public should do so on the basis of “sex”, which he defines as “sex at birth, natal sex, or biological sex.”

The amendment goes on to say that public organisations must collect sex data “in accordance” with the newly updated definitions of sex. It also stipulates that statistics on gender identity which related to GRCs or documents relating to the Gender Recognition Act should be labelled as “acquired gender.”

This essentially means that any public data on trans people will forcibly out them by ignoring GRCs in favour of documents relating to “sex at birth.”

The amendments also order public authorities to remove any “inaccurate” data within 18 months of its passage, meaning that trans people could have vital documents or data on their medical history purged entirely.

Trans people could, as a result, miss out or be denied several important gender-based procedures such as smear tests or prostate screenings.

LGBTQ+ data researcher, Kevin Guyan, posted to Bluesky, warning that the amendments should be “opposed” immediately.

In a set of posts, he said that while he believes the bill is “unlikely to go anywhere,” allies should see the amendments as part of a “wider campaign to erase trans people from data systems.”

“Write to your MP and tell them to reject the ‘sex data’ amendment to the Data Bill AND reject the recommendations of the Sullivan Review,” he added. “If adopted by government, the Sullivan recommendations would similarly erase trans people from data systems.”