EU Commission: approval of Data Act. Vestager, it establishes “who has control over data, who can use them and for what purpose”

The European Commission has approved the proposed “Data Act”, a set of rules for use of and access to data generated within the EU in all economic sectors. These are measures that “provide legal assurance and remove barriers to data sharing”, explained Maragerethe Vestager, deputy president, at the press conference. These rules focus on data “generated by machines or connected devices”: from smartwatches to cars and household appliances, devices that “generate a huge amount of nonpersonal data”. The use of such data, however, also according to Vestagher, might open “a multitude of opportunities for new products, new services or for research”. Therefore, the “Data Act” establishes “who has control over such data, who can use them and for what purpose”: energy efficiency, traffic, public transport are some of the areas in which they might be used. The volume of data is constantly growing, the EU Commission explains: while 33 zettabytes were generated in 2018, 175 zettabytes are expected to be generated by 2025. Only 20% of such potential industrial data is used: after the enforcement of the new rules, the use of data is expected to create 270 billion euros of extra GDP by 2028. The set of rules includes measures targeted to users of connected devices, so they can have access to the data they generate; to SMEs, so they can be protected from abusive contracts; to public bodies, so they can have access to data owned by the private sector under exceptional circumstances.
Valentina Bombelli