Creative Content Exchange Research Privacy Notice
Department for Culture, Media & Sport Privacy Notice for R&D Science and Analysis Programme - Creative Content Exchange Research
Who is collecting my data?
The Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) helps to drive growth, enrich lives and promote Britain abroad.
We protect and promote our cultural and artistic heritage and help businesses and communities to grow by investing in innovation and highlighting Britain as a fantastic place to visit. We help to give the UK a unique advantage on the global stage, striving for economic success.
As set out in the Creative Industries Sector Plan and as part of the Industrial Strategy, the UK Government is exploring the creation of a trusted data exchange/marketplace for buying, selling, licensing, and enabling access to digitised cultural and creative assets, known as the Creative Content Exchange. In this context, DCMS has commissioned a consortium of researchers at Frontier Economics, BOP Consulting, and the Centre for Regulation of the Creative Economy (CREATe – University of Glasgow) to carry out independent research on the market for licensing creative and cultural content in the UK and to assess the feasibility and design of a data exchange/marketplace.
The Government is encouraged by the fact that licensing of creative and cultural works is already well underway. This research aims to expand the existing evidence base of cross-sectoral licensing trends to determine whether data exchanges boost the efficiency and output of the licensing market and, crucially, whether they boost creatives’ revenue streams, control, and transparency of their content used.
This research is being carried out in the broader context of the Government’s work on copyright in the age of AI, but its central questions and objectives do not relate directly to copyright.
The research includes:
- A national online survey of UK rightsholders to quantify latent supply, carried out by BOP Consulting.
- A survey of AI/tech organisations to obtain information on the volume and type of creative content required for different use cases, carried out by Frontier Economics.
Purpose of this Privacy Notice
This notice sets out how the personal data collected during the research will be used. We have to provide this information as part of our legal obligations set out in Article 13 of UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) when data is received directly from you.
The Department for Culture, Media & Sport’s personal information charter (opens in a new tab) explains:
- how we handle your information
- how you can ask to view, change or remove your information from our records
What is personal data?
Personal data is any information related to an identified or identifiable natural living person, otherwise known as a ‘data subject’.
A data subject is someone who can be recognised, directly or indirectly, by information such as their name, identification number, location data, online identifier, or about their physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity. These types of identifying information are known as ‘personal data’.
You can find more in the Information Commissioner’s Office’s (ICO) guide to understanding personal information.
What personal data do we collect?
The personal information collected by Frontier Economics and the rest of the research team is provided directly by you (voluntarily) through the surveys above. This includes:
- Name
- Job title and professional role
- Organisation name
- Work email address
- Work telephone number (where provided)
- Professional opinions and views expressed in survey responses in a work-related context.
How will we use your data?
Data protection law applies to the processing of personal data, including its collection, use and storage.
The purpose of the processing is to support the delivery of research and analytical services for DCMS, including the recruitment of research participants and the collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative evidence. Processing is undertaken solely for research purposes to inform anonymised or aggregated findings, insights and recommendations for DCMS.
What is the legal basis for processing my data?
The lawful basis that we rely on to process your personal data will determine which of the following rights are available to you.
Much of the processing we do in DCMS is necessary to meet our legal obligations or to perform a public task. If we hold personal data about you in different parts of DCMS for different purposes, then the legal basis we rely on may be different for each case.
Our legal reason for collecting or processing this data is that you have freely given your consent – it will be clear to you what you are consenting to and how you can withdraw your consent.
What will happen if I do not provide this data?
If you do not provide this data, Frontier Economics and the rest of the research team will provide DCMS with analysis based on a smaller dataset. In the worst case scenario, if no data is collected, the research team will not be able to complete their analysis.
Who will your data be shared with?
We may share this information with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Department for Business and Trade, the Natural History Museum as the host organisation for the Creative Content Exchange, and the team delivering the technical pilot for the Creative Content Exchange.
How long will my data be held for?
We will only retain your personal data for 5 years in line with DCMS retention policy if:
- it is needed for the purposes set out in this document
- the law requires us to
Will my data be used for automated decision making or profiling?
We will not normally use your data for any automated decision making. If any changes to our service mean we need to start doing so, we will let you know.
Will my data be transferred outside the UK and if it is how will it be protected?
We will not send your data beyond the European Economic Area. If we need to do so, we will let you know.
Links to other websites
This privacy notice does not cover how other organisations process personal information. Where we provide links to websites of other organisations, we encourage you to read the privacy notices for each of those sites.
Frontier Economics privacy notice link
BOP Consulting privacy notice link
What are my data protection rights?
You have rights over your personal data under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018).
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the supervisory authority for data protection legislation, and maintains a full explanation of these rights on their website. DCMS will ensure that we uphold your rights when processing your personal data.
Who controls this data?
Data Controllers Title: Head of R&D Funding
Data Controllers Address: DCMS, 1st Floor, 100 Parliament Street, London, SW1A 2BQ
Data Controllers Email address: csaresearch@dcms.gov.uk
How do I complain?
If you’re unhappy with the way we’ve handled your personal data and want to make a complaint, contact the department’s Data Protection Officer (DPO) at:
Data Protection Officer
The Department for Culture, Media & Sport
100 Parliament Street
London
SW1A 2BQ
You can also email dpo@dcms.gov.uk.
How to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office
If you believe that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), who is an independent regulator. You can also contact them for independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing.
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
You can also call the ICO on 0303 123 1113.
Any complaint to the Information Commissioner is without prejudice to your right to seek redress through the courts.
Changes to our privacy notice
We may make changes to this privacy policy. In that case, the ‘last updated’ date at the bottom of this page will also change. Any changes to this privacy policy will apply to you and your data immediately.
If these changes affect how your personal data is processed, DCMS will take reasonable steps to let you know.
This notice was last updated on 23/03/2026