The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a 2016 EU regulation that was incorporated into the UK Data Protection Act 2018 to maintain a Europe-wide standard and introduce stronger legislation on the handling of personal data. While the UK remained part of the European Union, the DPA 2018 continued to reference the EU GDPR. As of the 1st January 2021, the DPA 2018 now references UK GDPR.