INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
EU Parliament and Council: common positions on Data Act approved.
The Data Act is the proposed Regulation presented by the EU Commission on Feb. 22, 2022, which introduces harmonized legislation on equitable access to and use of data generated by connected devices (e.g., industrial data generated by machine-machine interaction-as in the case of connected machinery, IIoT-or human-machine interaction, as in the case of Internet of Things devices, IoT).
The Data Act introduces the principle that users of connected devices should have the right to access and share the data they help generate. The EU Council, through the Swedish Presidency, today shared the sixth compromise draft of the Data Act. The new compromise text further refines the protection of trade secrets and clarifies the relationship with data protection rules (the new wording clarifies that whenever users obtain personal data that is not their own, the Data Act is not a legal basis for processing) and the application of cloud-switching provisions.
The Telecommunications Working Group will discuss the text next March 14, and if no significant opposition is raised, the text will land on the table of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) on March 22.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament has approved its common position on the text: the types of data that fall under the scope of the Regulation are clarified (e.g., data processed by "complex proprietary algorithms" are excluded) and how the new rules apply to different actors. The protection of trade secrets is strengthened while the so-called abusiveness test aimed at preventing large companies from imposing unfair contract terms is extended to all companies, regardless of their size. The intention is to quickly start interinstitutional negotiations to arrive at a final agreed text.
The Data Act introduces the principle that users of connected devices should have the right to access and share the data they help generate. The EU Council, through the Swedish Presidency, today shared the sixth compromise draft of the Data Act. The new compromise text further refines the protection of trade secrets and clarifies the relationship with data protection rules (the new wording clarifies that whenever users obtain personal data that is not their own, the Data Act is not a legal basis for processing) and the application of cloud-switching provisions.
The Telecommunications Working Group will discuss the text next March 14, and if no significant opposition is raised, the text will land on the table of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) on March 22.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament has approved its common position on the text: the types of data that fall under the scope of the Regulation are clarified (e.g., data processed by "complex proprietary algorithms" are excluded) and how the new rules apply to different actors. The protection of trade secrets is strengthened while the so-called abusiveness test aimed at preventing large companies from imposing unfair contract terms is extended to all companies, regardless of their size. The intention is to quickly start interinstitutional negotiations to arrive at a final agreed text.
