In June Swedsoft submitted our views on the European Commisson’s proposal for a regulation on harmonised rules on fair access to and use of data (The Data Act). Swedsoft welcomes the initiative to provide a coordinated EU-wide approach to data-sharing, interoperability and portability as opposed to regulation at Member State level that risks fragmenting the internal market further.
We support the comments made by the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise. However in our comments we highlight a few things, among them are:
- The proposal paints an incomplete picture of data and data economies. The value of data is derived not from its volume but from its structure (turning data into information) and from the ability to identify relevant classes of patterns that can support knowledge creation and decision-making. Thus, the stated ambition to redistribute the value in data economies more evenly is potentially in conflict with the protection of business secrets needed to promote investments in data-driven development and innovation.
- Increased regulatory burden and regulation is likely to have negative economic impact, especially on smaller firms and startups that lack the necessary resources required for compliance work.
- Micro- and small enterprises are exempt from several parts of the proposed regulation while larger digital platforms are further limited. It would be desirable for an equal playing field with the same rules for everyone.
