Data Act (European Union)

The Data Act is a European Union regulation which aims to facilitate and promote the exchange and use of data within the European Economic Area.

The act was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 22 December 2023.

History
The European Commission was expected to formally present the act in the fourth quarter of 2021. Notwithstanding, the proposal was formally issued on 23February 2022.

European (harmonised) standards may be drafted by the European Standardization Organizations (ESOs) following standardisation requests from the European Commission in order to support the application of the requirement that 'products shall be designed and manufactured, and related services shall be provided, in such a manner that data generated by their use are, by default, easily, securely and, where relevant and appropriate, directly accessible to the user'. In addition, European standards and technical specifications in the meaning of Article II of Regulation (EU) 1025/2012 on European Standardisation may also support the issuing of "standard" contracts or transparency on how data will be used.

A draft of the proposed act had earlier been leaked on 2 February 2022, and was swiftly opposed by industry.

If implemented in its proposed form the Act would impact on data rights current under Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases (the Database Directive).

On 27 June 2023, the Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the final version. This was adopted by the Council on 27 November 2023 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 22 December 2023.