On 25 November, the European Commission published its draft data management law. The law is one of the tools that form part of the Commission's European Data Strategy 2020, which sets out policies and investments to give the EU a competitive advantage by harnessing its vast amount of data.
The law aims to create a framework that encourages data re-use by increasing trust in data sharing service providers and strengthening the various data sharing mechanisms in the EU. The law will play a central role in enabling and guiding the creation of common, interoperable data spaces across the EU in strategic sectors, such as energy, mobility and health, which should in turn bring benefits to citizens.
The proposal includes rules on the following:
- Conditions for reuse of government data subject to existing protections, such as commercial confidentiality, intellectual property or data protection.
- Obligations for data sharing service providers, defined as entities that provide various types of data mediation services.
- Introduction of the concept of data altruism, where individuals or companies voluntarily make their data available for reuse in the public interest.
- Establishment of a European Data Innovation Council, an expert group with representatives of all competent authorities of the Member States, the European Data Protection Board, the European Commission and representatives of competent authorities in specific sectors.
