Data Act

Latest Developments

First Quarter 2024  - On 27 June 2023, the European Parliament, Commission and Council reached consensus on a compromise text of the Data Act following several rounds of interinstitutional negotiations (“trilogues”). On 9 November, the European Parliament adopted in plenary its position at first reading on the Data Act. The Council formally adopted the Data Act on 27 November 2023.  The Data Act was published on 22 December 2023 and it entered into force from 11 January 2024.

Summary

The Data Act aims to create a Single Market for industrial data by setting common basic rules on who can use and access data from connected (Internet of Things) devices across all economic sectors. It takes the form of a horizontal Regulation which will be directly applicable on the 27 EU Member States. By creating this new legal framework, the Data Act aims to encourage fair business-to-consumer, business-to-business and business-to-government exchange of data.

Main elements of the proposal include:

• B2B and B2C data sharing: designers and manufacturers shall provide products in which data is accessible by default;
• Data availability and contractual terms: data holders should make data available under fair, reasonable, non-discriminatory and transparent (FRAND) terms;
• Public usage of data: obligation to make data available for free in case of exceptional need, such as public emergencies;
• Switching between data processing services: service providers obliged to remove obstacles of any kind to enable switching between services (e.g. cloud services);
• International access to data: safeguards to avoid any unlawful third-party access to data located in the Union;
• Interoperability: the Commission is empowered to enable the interoperability through implementing acts;
• Review of the Database Directive: databases containing machine-generated data are excluded from the protection of sui generis right in the Directive 1996/9/EC; and
• Enforcement and penalties Member states shall lay down rules on effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties

How could it be relevant for you?

The European Data Act aims to boost the digitally driven economy in the EU by unlocking access to industrial data for both businesses and consumers, as well as enabling customers to switch easily between cloud services.

With the Regulation scheduled to apply from 12 September 2025, it is important to understand what impact the new law will have on your business and what market opportunities it might bring.

Several sector specific initiatives will be built on to it e.g., concerning the Data Health Space and connected mobility.

Next steps

The Data Act will apply from 12 September 2025. However, there is a longer lead in period for specific provisions concerning changes to the design and manufacture of products (12 September 2026) and for certain provisions related to certain unfair contractual terms (12 September 2027). 

*Information is accurate up to 21 March 2024