“Data is the new currency” – Public consultation on European Data Economy – make SMEs’ position heard

“Data is the new currency” was said by EU antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who gave clearance to the Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn. Interest in new data driven business models is soaring among startups and digital SMEs.

The European Commission is considering policy and legal options to make sure that Europe has the right legal framework to support a thriving Data Economy. A public consultation was recently launched to gather facts and stakeholders views on the topic. The European DIGITAL SME Alliance has now published its contribution to the Commission consultation on Data Economy.

The Public Consultation is a follow up of the Commission’s ‘Building the European Data Economy’ package dated 10th of January 2017. The package included a Communication and a Staff Working Document. It aims at developing efficient and competitive single market for data services, and addresses various related issues, such as: the free flow of data, data ownership, access to and re-use of data, its portability and liability. Results of the public consultation that runs until the 26th of April will be used for possible future initiative on the European Data Economy in 2017.

The Commission has already recognised DIGITAL SME’s proposals regarding data economy: it stressed the need to create a legal framework for usage of machine generated non-personal data. Therefore, DIGITAL SME encourages its members and all small and medium business working in a digital field and areas as diverse as manufacturing, energy, Internet of Things, etc. to express their views regarding European data economy. It emphasizes that in order to stimulate a competitive, non-monopolistic environment favourable for SMEs, non-personal machine-generated data needs to be tradable, while unilateral and exclusive use of data shall be deemed illegal; both manufacturers and the users of data-producing machines must have rights to use the data.