EU Commission wants to promote Data Sharing

It intends to

 –    create a mechanism for the re-use of public sector data, where the use of such data is subject to the rights of third parties. This includes sensitive data such as trade secrets.

 –    facilitate the sharing of data between companies. To this end, it intends to create a notification process for so called data sharing providers, who act as an interface between the data owners who want to make data available and potential users of the data. Data sharing providers should not be allowed to use the data themselves but should act purely as neutral intermediaries. This shall ensure trust in these actors.

 –    promote so called "data altruism", i.e. the voluntary provision of data for the common good by companies, but especially also by private individuals. The provision of data should, for example, help to strengthen healthcare and contribute to combating climate change. Entities which collect data for the purpose of data altruism - including public bodies and research institutions - should be subject to registration and must operate on a non-for-profit basis.

Now that the Commission has presented its proposal for a regulation, the European Parliament and the Council will be working intensively on the rules in the coming months.

The cep will soon publish a cepPolicyBrief on the proposal.