The Data Act Proposal and the Problem of Access to In-Vehicle Data and Resources
26 Pages Posted: 25 May 2022
Date Written: May 16, 2022
Abstract
Access to and sharing of data generated by IoT devices is one of the cornerstones of the current legal and economic discussions on competition and innovation in digital ecosystems. The recently published Data Act has the potential to reorganize the data governance structure between users, data holders, and third parties in order to achieve a higher level of control of the users over their data and, at the same time, improve data sharing. This again could improve competition and innovation throughout the digital economy. Connected cars and its ecosystem of innovative complementary products and services are an exemplary industry, where the Data Act could have a strong impact. Car manufacturers (OEMs) enjoy exclusive control over most in-vehicle data and resources and thus a gatekeeper position that allows them to control complementary markets. This paper asks whether the Data Act is able to ensure a level playing field between OEMs and independent service providers with respect to access to in-vehicle data and resources. The findings suggest that the Data Act cannot fulfill this task and provides some insights that should be considered for the announced sector-specific application.
Keywords: Data Act, data sharing, data access, competition policy, connected cars, mobility
JEL Classification: K11, K24, L86, O34, O38
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation