In­for­ma­tion about the Da­ta Act and the back­ground

The Data Act aims to boost Europe’s data economy. One of its main objectives is to increase data-based value creation and promote innovation in Europe.

Data from connected products and related services are at the centre of the Data Act. Connected products within the meaning of the Data Act are mostly Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices. These devices include connected vehicles, trains, aircraft, household appliances, industrial and agricultural machinery, production units and private terminal equipment. Related services are software (such as apps) used to control these devices. The Data Act puts users in the focus of data-based value creation. It establishes new data access, use and sharing rights for users for their connected products and related services.

The Data Act specifies under which conditions certain terms in contracts related to data access and use between enterprises are unfair and therefore not binding.

The Data Act also lays down rules and relevant interoperability requirements that make it easier for customers of data processing services to switch from one data processing service to another or use several data processing services at the same time. Data processing services are mostly cloud services.

In cases of an exceptional need, data covered by the Data Act must be made available to public sector bodies such as authorities or bodies governed by public law.

The Data Act also establishes rules to protect non-personal data held in the European Union from unlawful access by and transfer to third-country governmental authorities.