The Data Act, proposed in spring 2022, provides harmonised rules on fair access and use of data. The Act requires companies, specifically manufacturers of connected products and providers of related services to share data collected through their offerings with other entities and stakeholders in the value chain. The main aim of the Data Act is to facilitate fair access to and the use of data, and it applies to both personal and non-personal data. Under the Act, the manufacturers and service providers of connected products and related services, recognized as "data holders," must design their products and services to allow easy and secure access to data by users, including businesses (B2B) and consumers (B2C). The act extends data-sharing obligations to these data holders and, when requested, to third parties in the value chain. The European Union institutions reached consensus of the final format of the Data Act in late June 2023. Once entered into force, the Data Act will become applicable after a transition period of 20 months.
