The European Commission has proposed new rules on who can use and access data generated in the EU in all economic sectors. The Data Act will ensure equity in the digital environment, stimulate a competitive data market, provide opportunities for businesses, and make data more accessible to all. It will lead to new, innovative services and more competitive prices for after-sales services and the repair of connected objects. This last horizontal component of the Commission's data strategy will play a key role in the digital transformation, in line with the digital targets for 2030.
The proposed Data Act includes:
- Measures that allow users of connected devices to access data generated by them, which is usually collected exclusively by manufacturers, and to exchange it with third parties for after-sales services or other innovative data-based services. It maintains incentives for manufacturers to continue investing in high-quality data generation by covering transfer-related costs and excluding the use of exchanged data in direct competition with their products.
- Measures for rebalancing the bargaining power of SMEs by preventing the abuse of contractual imbalances to data exchange contracts. The Data Act will protect them from abusive contractual clauses imposed on the one hand by a much stronger negotiating position. The Commission will also formulate model contractual clauses to assist these companies in drafting and negotiating equitable data exchange contracts.
- Means for them public sector bodies obtain and use data held by the private sector that are necessary in exceptional circumstances, especially in the event of public emergencies such as floods and forest fires, if the data are not otherwise available. Data information is needed to respond quickly and securely, while minimizing the burden on businesses.
- New rules that allow customers to change effectively of cloud data processing service providers i establish safeguards against illegal data transfer .
In addition, the Data Act revises certain aspects of the Database Directive, which was formulated in the 1990s to protect investments in structured data presentation. In particular, it clarifies that databases containing information from devices and objects on the Internet of Things should not be subject to independent legal protection. This will ensure access and use.
Consumers and businesses they will be able to access device data and use it for after-sales and value-added services, such as predictive maintenance. With more information, consumers and users such as farmers, airlines, construction companies or building owners will be in a position to make better decisions, such as buying higher quality or more sustainable products and services, thus contributing to their goals. of the Green Pact.
Companies and industrial agents they will have more data and benefit from a competitive data market. After-sales service providers will be able to offer more personalized services and compete on an equal footing with comparable services offered by manufacturers, while data may be combined to develop completely new digital services as well.
This proposal is the second major legislative initiative arising from theEuropean data strategy February 2020, which aims to put the European Union at the forefront of an information-based society.
