New Data Governance Act proposal is the first of a set of measures announced in the 2020 European strategy for data. The strategy is a plan for European digital transformation over the next five years, intended to establish an uniform European way of data governance, as well as a single data market that would enable better data access for the economy, which would in turn significantly help Europe’s competitiveness. Understanding that data is an essential resource for economic growth, competitiveness, innovation, job creation and societal progress in general, the strategy is still focused on putting people first.

For that purpose, the new Data Governance Act proposal was adopted, as it is supposed to facilitate data flow and sharing between different sectors and EU Member States. The Act will presumably help users to stay in control of their data, and will support the creation of so-called European Data Spaces in crucial sectors, such as health, the environment, energy,, mobility etc. Its four main goals are:

– making public sector data available for re-use, in situations where such data is subject to rights of others;
– sharing of data among businesses, against remuneration in any form;
– allowing personal data to be used with the help of a ‘personal data-sharing intermediary’;
– allowing data use on altruistic grounds.

The Commission estimates that the new Act will increase innovations and job-creation, Europe’s competitiveness, and that it will benefit the society as a whole, bringing in solutions to challenges, such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be interesting to follow the reactions to the Data Governance Act and its effects.
The Proposal for Data Governance Act in full is available here.