The European Union (EU) has finalized the European Data Act, a controversial piece of legislation that includes provisions for smart contracts, including kill switches for safe termination. The act aims to promote the fair use of industrial data and remove barriers to data sharing. While the act has been praised for reshaping the digital space, it has drawn criticism from the crypto community, as some believe it may restrict innovation and compliance for smart contracts in the crypto industry.
The European Parliament and Council of the EU have reached a provisional agreement on the Data Act, a new legislation that aims to regulate the use and access of consumer and corporate data in the EU. The act grants users more control over their data generated by connected devices, allowing them to share it with outside parties if desired. It also includes measures to promote interoperability standards, facilitate data transfers between cloud providers, and enable public sector access to data for emergencies. Safeguards have been added to protect against unlawful data transfers, and companies can decline data sharing requests if it could result in serious economic losses. The Data Act is part of the EU's digital transformation and will need formal approval before becoming law, likely taking a couple of years to come into effect.
Legislative negotiators from the European Union have reached an agreement on the Data Act, which includes provisions on smart contracts. The Web3 community has expressed concerns about the potential negative impact of these rules on decentralized transactions governed by immutable code. While the final legal draft has not been released, the text on smart contracts has reportedly been tightened to focus specifically on the execution of contractual clauses in the context of data sharing. The European Commission has dismissed fears that the law will kill off existing smart contracts, but concerns remain about its compatibility with public, permissionless blockchains. The Data Act will need to be voted on by the European Parliament and Council to become law.
German companies Siemens and SAP have joined US tech giants in criticising the draft EU Data Act, which covers EU consumer and corporate data, for endangering trade secrets. The companies wrote a joint letter to the European Commission, calling for safeguards to allow companies to refuse requests to share data where trade secrets, cybersecurity, health and safety are at risk. The Commission confirmed receipt of the letter, saying it understood the importance of trade secrets but that companies should not use them as a pretext.
