font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Rules once enacted could affect company data,
connected devices, cloud providers
- font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Companies say rules could complicate
international data flows
"Arial",sans-serif">The European Union introduced draft legislation on
Wednesday to make it easier for individuals to take control of the data generated
in smart gadgets and machinery and foster business-to-business data-sharing.
"Arial",sans-serif">The Data Act is a part of a series of rules aimed to curb
the power of U.S. tech giants and to help the EU achieve its digital and green
objectives.
"Arial",sans-serif">“We want to ensure greater fairness in the allocation of
value created by data,” Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission’s digital
chief, said at a news conference.
"Arial",sans-serif">It will also set rules on how companies can access non-personal
including information from smart home appliances and machinery like electric
vehicles.
"Arial",sans-serif">“We are buying more and more products that generate data
from smartwatches to connected cars, and currently, it’s mainly the
manufacturer of these products who holds and uses the data,” Vestager said.
font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Control over data
"Arial",sans-serif">Under the draft law, cloud service companies like Amazon.com
and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:
MSFT) will be
forced to make it easier to transfer data between providers at no additional
cost.
"Arial",sans-serif">“We want to give consumers and companies even more control
over what can be done with their data,” Vestager said in a statement.
"Arial",sans-serif">The proposal also prohibits companies from unfair contracts
that inhibit sharing data with smaller businesses.
$19.7-billion Nuance acquisition receives EU antitrust approval
"Arial",sans-serif">For example, a car owner could request an automaker to send
the generated data on the vehicle’s performance to a repair shop of their
choice, which could help customers get cheaper services rather than being
obligated to go to the car company, according to the commission.
"Arial",sans-serif">The draft law will go to EU countries and the European Parliament
for approval and could take years to come into effect.
"Arial",sans-serif">When passed, the legislation will ensure that cloud and
data processing services have set up safeguards to prevent non-EU governments from
gaining illegal access to EU data.
"Arial",sans-serif">Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: FB), earlier this
that it might shut down its social media platform in the EU if it is not
allowed transatlantic data transfer.
font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">US pushing back EU’s proposed acts to reign
tech giants
"Arial",sans-serif">On Wednesday, a group of 30 bipartisan U.S. Congress-persons
to President Biden to encourage European leaders to change the language in
their proposed Digital Markets Act (DMA) so that it does not unfairly target U.S.
tech companies.
"Arial",sans-serif">The EU proposed DMA in 2020, which removes the ability of
tech giants to enact a preference toward their products and keep users from
connecting to third parties outside their platforms.
"Arial",sans-serif">Last year, EU lawmakers suggested that American tech giants
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:
AAPL), Amazon, Facebook,
Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:
GOOGL), and
Microsoft were the “biggest problems” for competition policy in Europe.
"Arial",sans-serif">The bipartisan group argued that American tech companies
are unfairly singled out in the DMA.
"Arial",sans-serif">Picture Credit: Medianama
