26 November 2020 - 2 min read

The European Data Governance Act: a key milestone

Dawex welcomes the European Data Governance Act. This new regulation project acknowledges Data Exchange as an expert discipline requiring strict European-wide standards and criteria. The upcoming text should offer clarification for players willing to engage in data exchanges under the European jurisdiction. It also sets guiding principles for the deployment of Europe-wide data ecosystems, relying on public-private partnerships to foster new cooperation power based on the circulation of data.


Data exchange: a key data discipline recognized by the European Data Governance Act

With the new Data Governance Act, Europe completes its legislation to meet global data challenges. The regulation is a first important step in the implementation of the European Data Strategy presented earlier in February by Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton and confirms the central role played by Data Exchange.

 

By highlighting data exchange, the text brings more clarity in the critical question of organizations’ ability, obligations and responsibilities in handling data circulation. Data exchange services should soon require European-wide authorization and eligibility criteria in order to be allowed to deploy data sharing technologies. Hence the role of trusted third parties in enabling fair circulation and use of data is thoroughly reinforced.

The valuation of European data assets to achieve greater cooperation power

New initiatives on frameworks and policies are multiplying everywhere such as Data Trading Alliance in Japan, Gaia-X in Europe, the World Economic Forum or the Data Exchange Association (DXA). Europe is taking a strong step towards the protection and valuation of its data resources, both public and private. This regulation comes as a useful addition next to the General Data Protection Regulation and the Regulation on the Free Flow of Non-Personal Data

 

By extending the understanding, scope and perspectives of data exchange, Europe will need to deploy the adequate environments to welcome this rising activity related to data circulation. To serve this objective , data exchanges have to be secure, trustful, and compliant with regulations. They also need to offer traceability and flexibility in the contractual and licensing terms of data transactions. Only with these core characteristics can Data Exchange technology serve its purpose in sourcing, distributing and orchestrating data across large data ecosystems.

 

Since its inception in 2015, Dawex has anticipated this milestone evolution by developing its data exchange technology to support the flexible deployment of data ecosystems and their interconnection.

 

The critical role to be played by interconnected data ecosystems

 

With the recognition of the strategic importance of data exchange, the construction of data ecosystems (referred to as data spaces in the European Data Governance Act) are confirmed as the essential building blocks of the European data economy. 

 

By defining data spaces as the entities responsible for the effective implementation of data ecosystems, the European regulation fully covers the notion of data exchange and its governance, from strategic conception to operational implementation. In this respect, the text further provides a comprehensive framework for the data governance of European Data Spaces. These are to be built on the interconnection of data ecosystems per sector and meant to gather public and private partners from all European countries. 

 

The European Data Governance Act regulation proposition should thus result in the creation of national authorities in charge of implementing the notification procedure. They will act as the legal entities to grant authorizations for data exchange services in each European Member State. With this network of national authorities, it is also anticipated that the regulation will result in the development of data competencies beyond the technological dimension. Implementing  the European Data Governance Act will effectively require business, economic, legal and administrative skills. The appointment of national points of contacts, the orchestration of data ecosystems or the ability to negotiate valorization modalities for data assets are examples of new data approaches, which will all contribute to a dynamic towards a consistent European-wide data economy.

 

This future regulation is a milestone of great importance for the trustful development of the data exchange market. At Dawex, we are looking forward to its implementation, which will mark the entry into a new era of secure and trustful data exchanges.

 

 

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