Rules on fair access to and use of data (Data Act)

Purpose: The Data Act aims to ensure fair access to and use of data generated in the EU by providing users with more control over data they create and promoting data-sharing mechanisms that benefit innovation, competition, and sustainability. It introduces balanced rules for business-to-business, business-to-government, and business-to-consumer data sharing, ensuring fairness and transparency.

Scope: The Data Act applies to a broad range of stakeholders, including businesses, public authorities, and individuals. It regulates both personal and non-personal data and establishes requirements for fair contractual terms, data portability, and business-to-government data sharing in situations of public interest or emergencies. The Data Act will reshape how businesses regulate data sharing rights and conditions in contracts. It mandates fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory access to data while safeguarding intellectual property and trade secrets. This will particularly impact contract practices for companies in IoT, data processing, cloud services, and data-driven industries such as healthcare and automotive.

Core obligations: The Data Act imposes obligations on businesses to enable users to access and share data they generate, ensures fair contractual terms in data-sharing agreements, and mandates data-sharing with public authorities under specific conditions. It also strengthens user rights, such as data portability, and ensures that SMEs are protected from unfair practices in the data economy.