Data is an essential resource for economic growth, competitiveness, innovation, job creation and societal progress in general. In the future, the development of data-driven applications will bring various benefits to both citizens and businesses, such as improve healthcare, and improve sustainability and energy efficiency.
That's why the European Strategy for Data, which includes the two critical pieces of legislation listed below (the Data Governance Act and the European Data Act), seeks to ensure that more data becomes available for use in the economy and society, while keeping the companies and individuals who generate the data in control.
The Data Governance Act (DGA) is a regulation by the European Union that aims to create a framework which will facilitate data-sharing. It was first announced within the 2020 European strategy for data and was officially presented by Margrethe Vestager on November 25, 2020. The DGA covers the data of public bodies, private companies, and citizens, with its main aims being to safely enable the sharing of sensitive data held by public bodies and to regulate data sharing by private actors. The DGA entered into force on June 23, 2022, and after a 15-month grace period, it became applicable in September 2023.
The DGA is a key pillar of the European data strategy, which seeks to make the EU a leader in a data-driven society by establishing a single market for data and fostering a competitive data market. The initiative looks to make more data available for use via new rules on who can use and access data and for which purposes across all economic sectors in the EU.
The European Data Act, which entered into force in January 2024, complements the Data Governance Act. While the DGA regulates processes and structures which facilitate voluntary data sharing, the Data Act clarifies who can create value from data and under which conditions. It will enable a fair distribution of the value of data by establishing clear and fair rules for accessing and using data within the European data economy.
The Data Act also enables the public sector to access and use data held by the private sector to help respond to public emergencies, such as floods and wildfires. It will also protect European businesses from unfair contractual terms in data sharing contracts, so that small businesses can take part more actively in the data market. The Data Act will enter into force in the EU in September 2025.
These regulations are part of the broader European strategy for data, which aims to make Europe a leader in the data economy by harnessing the potential of the ever-increasing amounts of data, in particular industrial data, for the benefit of the European economy and society.
The INSTAR Data Technologies European Task Force (ETF) supports policy work on relevant European regulations, such as the Data Governance Act and the European Data Act.
INSTAR and the European strategy for data
The European strategy for data holds particular relevance for INSTAR and its objectives. INSTAR's mission to promote EU values and interests in the international standardisation of key emerging technologies, including Data Technologies, aligns closely with the framework's goals.
Moreover, the European Strategy for Data's comprehensive approach to data governance can serve as a model for INSTAR in promoting the integration of EU values and interests into international standards, thereby shaping a more secure and resilient global digital landscape.
If you are a standardisation expert or a standards practitioner in the key technologies (AI, Cybersecurity, Digital ID, Quantum, IoT, 5G, 6G, and Data) in Europe, find out how you can contribute to the next generation of Technology standards by joining our Task Forces today!
