European Proposal for a Data Act – A First Assessment

Abstract

On 23 February 2022, the European Commission unveiled its proposal for a Data Act (DA). As declared in the Impact Assessment, the DA complements two other major instruments shaping the European single market for data, such as the Data Governance Act and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and is a key pillar of the European Strategy for Data in which the Commission announced the establishment of EU-wide common, interoperable data spaces in strategic sectors to overcome legal and technical barriers to data sharing.

To contribute to the current policy debate, the paper provides a first assessment of the tabled DA and will suggest possible improvements for the ongoing legislative negotiations.

Keywords: Data sharing; Internet of Things; Interoperability

JEL Classification: K20; L50; L80