EU Data Act legislative proposal raises concerns

EU Data Act legislative proposal raises concerns 

T&D Europe’s position paper shares comments on the EU Data Act legislative proposal, raising concerns as it impacts our current and future service business based on IoT. 

Key points:

• The Data Act assumes that the IOT asset provider is the data holder. The assumption “manufacturer = data holder” fails to reflect the realities of our industry. It is overly
  simplified. In the B2B space, unlike the B2C space, the “user” of the physical asset typically is the “data holder” and not the manufacturer.
• Access to data / data sharing stipulations of the Data Act are too broad, too vague and/or regulate aspects of business that so far were governed by contractual and
  entrepreneurial freedom. Additionally, the protection of trade secrets, intellectual property (IP) and critical infrastructure must be ensured.
• The Data Act introduces far-reaching obligations (access by design, making data available free of charge to data users and third parties) to the manufacturers of connected products as the “data holders, which seem unreasonable, unbalanced, and potentially incur costs.
• Data Act offers only ambiguity and vagueness where precise definitions and classifications are urgently needed.