THE DATA GOVERNANCE ACT - A STEP TOWARDS A EUROPEAN DATA SPACE

Abstract

The article attempts to explain how the DGA is a step towards a European data space. An assessment of the DGA is undertaken in relation to the re-use of protected data and data altruism. The article asks the research question whether the DGA is an important instrument in this matter and whether it is an effective tool to improve access to data in the EU. The answer to the question thus posed is as follows. DGA has an impact on the re-use of protected data. However, this act does not grant the right to re-use such data. It is further left to the Member States to decide on this. The DGA, on the other hand, normalizes procedures and provides institutional support in the process of implementing requests. This gives grounds to consider that the DGA will significantly affect the re-use of these data. What will be important, however, is not the procedure described as such, but the obligation under the DGA to assess whether a request for protected data can be granted. It is also important to provide institutional support to public sector entities as well as data users. A component of the European data space is the concept of data altruism. This idea has been regulated in the DGA, providing a normative basis for the sharing of personal data by data subjects and non-personal data holders. The use of such data can be considered an important opportunity for broader and fuller management of data as modern information capital. At the same time, data altruism embodies the tenets of sustainable development and the exercise of information freedoms on the part of those willing to take advantage of the opportunity to share data. Data altruism is a concept in which organizations and individuals share data openly and altruistically for social, scientific or economic benefit. Nowadays, however, the application of this idea is associated with a number of problems mainly of regulatory and organizational nature. The analysis conducted here aims to introduce the concept of data altruism and identify the reasons for the low interest in its implementation.