PECRUK · S.I. 2003/2426
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PECR – The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2426) – Regulation 32A – Codes of conduct

Regulations

Regulation 32A[F1Codes of conduct

(1) The Commissioner must encourage representative bodies to produce codes of conduct intended to contribute to compliance with these Regulations.
(2) Under paragraph (1), the Commissioner must encourage representative bodies to produce codes which take account of, among other things, the specific features of different sectors.
(3) A code of conduct described in paragraph (1) may, for example, make provision with regard to—
  • (a)
    rights and obligations under these Regulations;
  • (b)
    out-of-court proceedings and other dispute resolution procedures for resolving disputes arising in connection with these Regulations.
(4) The Commissioner must encourage representative bodies to submit codes of conduct described in paragraph (1) to the Commissioner in draft.
(5) Where a representative body does so, the Commissioner must—
  • (a)
    provide the representative body with an opinion on whether the code correctly reflects the requirements of these Regulations,
  • (b)
    decide whether to approve the code, and
  • (c)
    if the code is approved, register and publish the code.
(6) The Commissioner may only approve a code if, among other things—
  • (a)
    the code contains a mechanism for monitoring whether persons who undertake to apply the code comply with its provisions, and
  • (b)
    in relation to persons other than public bodies, the mechanism involves monitoring by a body which is accredited for that purpose by the Commissioner under regulation 32B.
(7) In relation to amendments of a code of conduct that is for the time being approved under this regulation—
  • (a)
    paragraphs (4) and (5) apply as they apply in relation to a code, and
  • (b)
    the requirements in paragraph (6) must be satisfied by the code as amended.
(8) A code of conduct described in paragraph (1) may be contained in the same document as a code of conduct described in Article 40 of the UK GDPR (and a provision contained in such a document may be a provision of both codes).
(9) In this regulation—
  • “public body” has the meaning given in section 7 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (for the purposes of the UK GDPR);
  • “representative body” means an association or other body representing categories of—
    • (a)
      communications providers, or
    • (b)
      other persons engaged in activities regulated by these Regulations;
  • “the UK GDPR” has the meaning given in section 3(10) of the Data Protection Act 2018.]

Amended text

This Regulation is shown as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (c. 18), among other instruments (see the annotations below) (commenced provisions as at 19 September 2026, ELI), as incorporated in the text in force on 19 September 2026 as published on legislation.gov.uk.

Amendment in force, not yet in the text

The following amendment(s) to this Regulation are now in force, but legislation.gov.uk had not incorporated them in the text in force on 19 September 2026 that this page reproduces, so the text above does not yet show them:

  • reg. 32A(1)(2): words substituted by S.I. 2026/386, Sch. 3, para. 6(3), para. 6(4)(h); commencement: reg. 1(2)
  • reg. 32A(4)-(6): words substituted by S.I. 2026/386, Sch. 3, para. 6(3), para. 6(4)(h); commencement: reg. 1(2)

Note: S.I. 2026/386 came into force on 30 September 2026 (reg. 1(2)), when section 119 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 was fully brought into force by S.I. 2026/1015, reg. 2.

Annotations

Textual Amendments

  1. F1 Regs. 32A-32C inserted (5.2.2026) by Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (c. 18), ss. 116(2), 142(1); S.I. 2026/82, reg. 2(z)

https://pecr.digiphile.law/article/article-32A.html

Text as at 19 September 2026.

This is an unofficial convenience version of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (PECR). 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.

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