On 27 November 2023, the Council of the European Union adopted the Regulation on harmonised rules on fair access to and use of data (Data Act), including data protection and access measures. The Act aims to facilitate access to data and review the rules on the legal protection of databases to balance the rights to access data and the incentives to invest in data within the current data protection rules. The Act will provide a framework for the accessing and sharing of data. Specifically, the Act sets out under which circumstances data may be used to produce value, with a focus on data access rights. Under the Act, entities could decide what data can be shared, and the manufacturer could choose not to make certain data available "by design". Furthermore, when companies draft data-sharing contracts, the Act aims to rebalance the negotiation power in favour of SMEs by shielding them from unfair contractual terms imposed by companies in a significantly stronger bargaining position. The Act will enter into force 20 months after its publication in the Official Journal.
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