Data – Image by RAEng_Publications from Pixabay
(BRUSSELS) – The European Data Act entered into force Thursday, defining rights to the access and use of data generated in the EU, and boosting data-sharing and innovation, especially in the field of artificial intelligence.
“Today marks a key milestone in our digital transformation journey,” said EC vice-president Margrethe Vestager: “Through well-defined legislation on data, we put the user in control of sharing data generated by their connected devices, while ensuring the protection of trade secrets and safeguarding the European fundamental right to privacy.”
The Data Act is designed to ensure fairness in the digital environment by clarifying who can create value from data and under which conditions. It will also stimulate a competitive and innovative data market by unlocking industrial data, says the European Commission, and provide legal clarity as regards the use of data.
The rapid growth of connected devices in the European market has led to the generation of large amounts of data. The new rules iwll enable users of connected products to access the data generated by these devices, and to share such data with third parties.
As an example, the owner of a connected car or the operator of a wind turbine will be able to request the manufacturer to share certain data generated by the use of these connected products with a repair service of the owner’s choice. This will give more control to consumers and to other users of connected products and it will boost aftermarket services and innovation. Incentives for manufacturers to invest in data-generating products and services will be preserved, and their trade secrets will remain protected.
Public sector bodies will be able to access and use data held by the private sector to help respond to public emergencies such as floods and wildfires, or when implementing a legal mandate where the required data is not readily available through other means.
The Commission says the Data Act will protect European businesses from unfair contractual terms in data sharing contracts that one contracting party unilaterally imposes on the other – enabling smaller businbess in particular to trake part more actively in the data market.
Thehe Data Act will allow customers to switch seamlessly (and eventually free of charge) between different cloud providers. These measures are expected to promote competition and choice on the market while preventing vendor lock-in. For instance, any European enterprise could combine data services from different cloud providers (“multi-cloud”) and benefit from the vast opportunities in the EU cloud market. It will also drastically reduce costs for businesses and administrations when they move their data and applications to a different cloud provider.
The Data Act includes safeguards against unlawful requests by third-country authorities to transfer or access non-personal data held in the EU, ensuring a more reliable and secure data-processing environment.
The Act also introduces measures to promote the development of interoperability standards for data-sharing and for data processing services.
Data Act - guide
