The EU Council adopted a new regulation on fair access to and use of data (Data Act). Essentially, the new regulation will give users and businesses access to their data through a reinforced portability right and copying or transferring data across different internet of things (IoT) products.

The Data Act aims to ensure adequate protection of trade secrets and intellectual property rights while providing safeguards for exceptional circumstances and dispute settlement mechanisms. It also seeks to protect the EU companies from unfair agreements. It allows public sector bodies, including the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the EU bodies, to access private-sector data. Additional safeguards against unauthorised data transfers are guaranteed, and consumers can also switch cloud providers. Regarding the implementation and enforcement at the national level, the Data Act
leaves it up to the discretion of the member states.

Following the formal adoption, the Data Act shall apply 20 months from its enforcement, with new products required to meet design requirements for data accessibility after one year and existing contracts on IoT products changing after five years.

Why does it matter?

The adoption of the Data Act essentially aims to solve the issue of who owns the data generated by internet of things products by giving consumers the right to access all of their data. Disputes between the device manufacturer and buyer were primarily resolved through contractual agreements, resulting in disproportionate benefits to the more powerful party, which in this case was the manufacturer.

As Politico mentioned, it is also believed that mandatory data-sharing could expose commercially sensitive data and lead to the development of imitative technologies across the EU. Additionally, concerns were raised over the possible clashes with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

On the bright side of the story, it seems that the Data Act could benefit transport operators across the EU. It could ease the process of accessing data they need related to fuel consumption or driver training, among others, without having to buy specific devices to access these data.