Data governance

Data are a central resource helping to fuel economic growth, employment and societal progress. Given that the volume of data is expected to increase considerably in the years to come, rules are being set in place to create the right conditions for individuals and companies to be able to trust that when they share their data (data altruism), it will be handled by trusted organisations based on European Union (EU) values and principles.

To harness the potential of data and to build a market for personal and non-personal data, the EU adopted the data governance act.

The data governance act:

creates a mechanism to enable the safe reuse of certain categories of public-sector data that are subject to the rights of others, for example, trade secrets, personal data and data protected by intellectual property rights (public-sector bodies allowing this type of reuse will need to be properly equipped, in technical terms, to ensure that privacy and confidentiality are fully preserved);
enables the Commission to set up a European single access point with a searchable electronic register of public-sector data, available via national single information points;
creates a framework for a new business model – data intermediation services – that will provide a secure environment in which companies or individuals can share data;
makes it easier for individuals and companies to make data voluntarily available for the common good, such as medical research projects;
introduces voluntary certification in the form of a logo to make it easier to identify compliant providers of data intermediation services and data altruism organisations;
allows for a new structure, the European Data Innovation Board, to be created to advise and assist the Commission in improving the interoperability of data intermediation services and issuing guidelines on how to facilitate the development of data spaces, among other tasks;
creates safeguards for public-sector data, data intermediation services and data altruism organisations against the unlawful international transfer of, or governmental access to, non-personal data (for personal data, the EU already has similar safeguards under the general data protection regulation).