Data Governance Act

In line with the EU data strategy, a framework for secure data exchange is needed. The EU Data Governance Act sets this out with a view to an innovative Europe. The Table.Briefings editorial team has all the latest news on the EU Data Governance Act. What is the EU Data Governance? Data governance generally means the effective management of data based on standards and guidelines. This usually refers to processes and strategies within a company. However, there must also be a uniform framework for data management at a political level. This is why the EU data strategy also includes a data governance regulation, the so-called Data Governance Act, which acts as a legal framework for handling data in a digitized Europe. The focus is on the exchange of data between individual EU citizens, public institutions and companies, and the DGA addresses all types of data beyond data protection in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This also includes non-personal data, government data or datasets. The aim is to create harmonized conditions for the use of data in Europe. The Data Governance Act is therefore defined as a European regulatory project that innovatively supplements existing directives. What does the Data Governance Act contain? The main content of the DGA is how data management and data exchange will be organized in a concrete and secure manner in the future. The regulation introduces the concept of "data altruism". This means that data can be transferred in a simplified manner in accordance with the GDPR if it is of "general interest". This would be the case, for example, if the data is used in research or to improve public services. Data held by public bodies can therefore be transferred more easily if specific principles are adhered to. How does the Data Governance Act relate to data protection? According to the EU's Data Governance Act, the transfer of data should take place through certain data protection measures, including Intermediaries, so-called data intermediaries, should also be able to use this data under certain conditions. On the one hand, this offers opportunities, but on the other, there is the risk of data monetization. Data protectionists are therefore fiercely debating the implications of the EU Data Governance Act. Above all, the EU Commission sees it as an opportunity to shape digitalization in an innovative and future-oriented way. How did the EU Data Governance Act come about? The draft legislation for the EU Data Governance Act was first presented by the EU Commission in 2020. A revised version was then provisionally adopted by the EU Parliament and the Council of Europe in November 2021. The basic idea of the DGA is to strengthen an innovative digital economy: with uniform guidelines on the use of data, the EU wants to enable the use of artificial intelligence and big data technologies in particular. What is the relationship between the Data Governance Act and the GDPR? The Data Governance Regulation is based on the existing guidelines of the General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR ). The regulation also includes specific data protection measures. This is intended to secure and simplify the exchange between sectors in the future. This concerns data from various areas such as health, research and administration. What are the benefits of the Data Governance Act? The DGA is therefore aimed less at individual EU citizens than at all players in the digital economy. The aim is to create opportunities for the shared use of data. The Data Governance Regulation is intended to remove the technical hurdles of previous regulations, such as the GDPR. The DGA explicitly covers areas of interpretation of the GDPR. However, according to the EU Commission, it is also the declared aim to eliminate uncertainties in relation to data transferThe design of the DGA is too vague for many data protection experts. Some digital activists are therefore calling for personal data to be completely excluded from the DGA in order to create a clear distinction from the Data Protection Regulation. They are also calling for more consistency with the specific provisions of the GDPR. Is the Data Governance Act part of the European data strategy? The EU Digital Governance Act has so far received relatively little media attention alongside the far-reaching General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Digital Service Act (DSA). Yet the regulation is an important pillar of the European data strategy. As part of an innovative European policy, the Data Governance Act is one of the protective mechanisms of the digital age. Further background information on the Data Governance Act can be found in the analyses and commentaries of the Table.Media editorial team.