Data Sharing Becomes a Legal Obligation — And a New Business Frontier
The European Union is on the cusp of a transformative shift in data management with the introduction of the Data Act. Scheduled for implementation on 12 September 2025, this legislation is a cornerstone in the EU’s mission to dismantle data monopolies and foster a more equitable, competitive data economy.
A New Era of Data Abundance
In today’s digital landscape, the proliferation of connected devices-from smart cars to intelligent home systems-has led to an unprecedented explosion of data. Yet, much of this valuable resource remains underutilized, often hoarded by a handful of large companies. The Data Act is set to change this narrative by making data generated by these devices more accessible and widely shared, unlocking new possibilities for innovation and economic growth.
Completing the EU Data Strategy
The Data Act is the final piece in the EU’s comprehensive data strategy puzzle. Alongside the Data Governance Act, the European Strategy for Data, and the GDPR, it aims to build an ethical and competitive data ecosystem across Europe. The primary objective? To break the oligopolies that dominate today’s data landscape and empower individuals and businesses with greater control over their data. As Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, has emphasized, Europe must strike a balance between data flow, usage, and the preservation of high standards in privacy, security, and ethics. The Data Act is pivotal to achieving this equilibrium.
The Fall of Closed “End-to-End” Solutions
Historically, manufacturers and service providers have maintained exclusive control over data generated by their products, leading to ‘lock-in’ effects that restrict competition and consumer choice. The Data Act targets this imbalance by granting users the right to access and control their data. This new right undermines the dominance of closed ‘end-to-end’ solutions, enabling consumers to choose from a broader range of aftermarket services-like repair and maintenance-without being tethered to the original manufacturer. Moreover, the Act mandates that data holders must make user-generated data available to third parties upon request, ensuring that consumers can freely share their data with service providers of their choice, thereby spurring innovation and competition.
Data Accessibility by Design: Real-Time Empowerment
At the heart of the Data Act lies the principle of ‘data accessibility by design,’ which becomes mandatory on 12 September 2026. From this point forward, manufacturers must ensure that data generated by their products is not just accessible but shareable by default. This involves designing products and services that facilitate secure, real-time access to data, coupled with clear transparency mandates-informing users about what data is accessible and how it can be shared.
Architectural Models: Powering Seamless Data Flow
To meet the requirements of the Data Act, products must be built on architectures that prioritize seamless data accessibility. Multicast architectures, in particular, are ideally suited for this task, enabling the simultaneous sharing of data streams across multiple applications in a cost-effective and secure fashion. These systems, often based on publish/subscribe protocols like MQTT, NATS, and Kafka, have become indispensable over the past two decades for enabling native system integration. Designing a Data Act-compliant device means configuring it as a ‘publisher,’ capable of streaming data to a publish/subscribe data broker, ensuring that data is always accessible and shareable by design.
Monetizing Data: A New Business Horizon
The Data Act doesn’t just mandate data sharing-it paves the way for lucrative new business opportunities. By eliminating barriers such as fragmented data silos, poor metadata management, and lack of interoperability standards, the Act enables companies to monetize data more effectively. This shift is set to create a dynamic and competitive data economy, where the value of data can be fully realized.
Decentralization: The Future of Data Empowerment
Central to the Data Act are the GDPR principles of data minimization and protection by design, with a pronounced focus on decentralization. Users are to be given direct control over their data, bypassing intermediaries and gaining access to granular permission management. To further advance decentralized consent management, the Act promotes the development of smart contracts-automated agreements that execute transactions under predefined conditions. These smart contracts not only ensure that data-sharing agreements are honoured but also decentralize control within the data economy, enhancing trust and security.
Conclusion: A New Dawn for Europe’s Data Economy
The EU Data Act represents a watershed moment in the evolution of Europe’s digital economy. By breaking down entrenched data monopolies and ensuring that data is more accessible and shareable, the Act not only bolsters consumer protection but also opens up vast new business opportunities. As Europe prepares to implement this groundbreaking legislation, the digital economy is poised to become more dynamic, inclusive, and innovative than ever before.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
