A cross-party group of MPs have condemned proposed amendments to the UK’s Data Bill, which could result in trans people being forcibly outed or erased from public record.

Changes to the Data (Use and Access) Bill, proposed by Tory MP Ben Spencer, would force public authorities that collect information on members of the public to provide data based on sex at birth rather than up-to-date documentation.

If passed, the amendments would force institutions such as the NHS and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to update records to match sex at birth rather than that documented on gender recognition certificates (GRCs), which allow trans people to update their legally recognised gender.

This could out every transgender person listed on public records, as well as purge data on trans people, resulting in “inaccurate” details which could cause health and legal issues at a later date.

Ahead of a vote on Wednesday (7 May), Green Party and Labour MPs condemned the proposed changes and called for them to be rejected.

Given Labour’s majority in the House of Commons, it is unlikely that the amendments will pass but backbencher Clive Lewis told HuffPost UK the idea set a dangerous precedent for data collection in the UK. “If the state can override your legal identity, record you as something you are not, and share that across every public system, then no one’s rights are safe,” he claimed.

“This isn’t data accuracy, it’s institutionalised erasure and it has a very dark, authoritarian dystopia klaxon attached to it,” he went on to allege. “Anyone remotely interested in living in a free, fair and tolerant society should oppose this.”

Spencer’s amendments would rework the bill’s definition of “sex” to mean “sex at birth, natal sex or biological sex” and require public organisations to collect data “in accordance” with that definition. Authorities would have to remove any “inaccurate data” within 18 months of the bill becoming law, which could mean trans people’s vital documents or data being purged entirely.

Considering that GRCs allow trans men and women to acquire new birth certificates, with updated gender markers, this could result in people’s birth sex being wrongfully labelled, meaning they could be denied important gender-based procedures such as smear tests or prostate screenings.

Greens MP Siân Berry described the amendments as “deeply disturbing,” adding that transgender people’s data must be protected by “those with the power to make new laws”.

The amendments would be “a gross violation of trans people’s right to privacy” and would risk “a mass outing of trans people across the UK”, she added.

“If passed, it would dangerously increase the risk of harassment and abuse already faced by this minority community. I’m pleased that the government opposed this amendment in the bill’s committee stage, and I am hopeful it will do the same again.”

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