You may well remember our blog from last year which outlined the Commission’s proposal for a framework in relation to the free flow of non-personal data in September 2017 (you can view our blog here).
On 19 June 2018, the European Parliament, Council and the European Commission reached a political agreement on the rules that will allow data to be stored and processed everywhere in the EU, without unjustified restrictions.
In addition to supporting the creation of a competitive data economy within the Digital Single Market, these new rules will remove barriers which hinder the free flow of data. Predictions suggest that this could boost Europe’s economy by an estimated growth of up to 4 per cent GDP by 2020. You can find more information on the European Commission’s website.
Key objectives
The new rules on the free flow of non-personal data will:
- Ensure the free flow of data across borders: this will prohibit data localisation restrictions permitting organisations to be able to store data anywhere in the EU. Also, requiring Member States to communicate to the Commission any remaining or planned data localisation restrictions in “limited specific situations of public sector data processing”.
- Ensure data availability for regulatory control: allowing public authorities to access data – for scrutiny and supervisory control – despite where it is stored and/or processed in the EU. Also, Member States may sanction users that do not provide access to data stored in another Member State.
- Encourage creation of codes of conduct for cloud services: to facilitate switching between cloud service providers under clear deadlines. The Commission states that this “will make the market for cloud services more flexible and the data services in the EU more affordable”.
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