Seeking a reasonable balance between data protection and data governance

Although the General Data Protection Regulation recognizes the importance of the free movement of data, the European Union has adopted additional regulations, such as the Data Governance Act (DGA) and the Data Act, in order to implement the European Data Strategy, with the aim of promoting data sharing through the creation of common European data spaces. This contribution aims to discuss the European Union’s normative attempt to strike a balance between the needs of data protection, which have so far prevailed, and those of data circulation, in terms of both the regulatory techniques and its substantive content. To this end, innovative aspects are examined, such as the DGA’s introduction of a novel definition of data and the emphasis on the needs of equality and solidarity underpinning the institutions and actors that establish data altruism and sharing, along with the balancing of these needs with data monetization. The analysis will also focus on elements of continuity emerging from the early implementation of the Strategy, such as the reaffirmation of para-constitutional principles that guide various sectors affected by digital transformation, without overlooking, however, critical issues arising from the coordination between the DGA’s institutions and the regulations establishing sectoral data spaces. The text eventually addresses the challenges inherent in the national implementation of data governance, the use of synthetic data to safeguard data during their circulation, and the forms of coordination to be established among Independent Administrative Authorities and Governmental Agencies designated for implementation.