IBM welcomes proposed EU Data Act
Feb 23,2022
The European Commission published its proposed
IBM welcomes the Data Act as it will facilitate data sharing and open data holds the promise of fast-tracking Europe’s data potential.
However, certain principles need to be taken into account.
- IBM is a strong promoter of an Open Hybrid Multicloud approach, which enables customers to use the Cloud vendor of their choice. We believe cloud switching should focus on preventing customer lock-in issues in the cloud sector, and focus on customer’s access to tools that allow customers to port their data.
- International data flows are indispensable for European companies’ competitiveness and the Data Act should strive to remove – and not institute – conflicts of laws. IBM as a global company has implemented strict commitments to safeguard clients’ data in the event of government requests and will continue to maintain them. Any concerns about foreign government access to data should be addressed through multilateral governmental negotiations establishing common baseline expectations, rather than by imposing regulatory requirements on a specific sector. Also, we do not envisage that foreign government demands for non-personal data would infringe upon fundamental rights.
- We are pleased that the Data Act will foster more fairness in data sharing and, as such, encourage the competitiveness of European businesses. We have long called for fair and equitable government data policies that prioritise openness. Today, we call for streamlined and clear concepts to underpin in data sharing mechanisms, aligned with other regulations such as the GDPR.
We look forward to analysing this text in greater detail and, as a leading hybrid Multi Cloud company, contributing to the debate to ensure the Data Act serves to boost the European data economy.
-Emilie Petras-Sohie, Senior Legal and Policy Manager, IBM Europe
Media inquiries:
michael.cloots@be.ibm.com
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