The proposed Data Act aims to provide measures for a fair and innovative data economy
The Commission has proposed a new Data Act with new rules about who can use and access data generated in the EU across all economic sectors. The Data Act aims to ensure fairness in the digital environment, stimulate a competitive data market, open opportunities for data-driven innovation and make data more accessible for all. It is hoped that it will lead to new, innovative services and more competitive prices for aftersales services and repairs of connected devices.
The volume of data is constantly growing, from 33 zettabytes generated in 2018 to 175 zettabytes expected in 2025. It is an untapped potential - 80% of industrial data is never used. The Data Act aims to address the legal, economic and technical issues that lead to data being under-used. The new rules aim to make more data available for reuse and are expected to create €270 billion of additional GDP by 2028.
The proposal for the Data Act includes:
In addition, the Data Act reviews certain aspects of the Database Directive, which was created in the 1990s to protect investments in the structured presentation of data. Notably, it clarifies that databases containing data from Internet-of-Things devices and objects should not be subject to separate legal protection. This would ensure they can be accessed and used.
Consumers and businesses will be able to access the data of their device and use it for after-sales and value-added services, like predictive maintenance. By having more information, the Commission says that consumers and users such as farmers, airlines or construction companies will be in a position to take better decisions such as buying higher quality or more sustainable products and services, contributing to the EU’s Green Deal objectives.
Business and industrial players will have more data available and benefit from a competitive data market. Aftermarkets services providers will be able to offer more personalised services, and compete on an equal footing with comparable services offered by manufacturers, while data can be combined to develop entirely new digital services as well.
Published: 2022-02-24T12:00:00