The OECD Committee on Digital Economy Policy decided to conduct further work and examine the possibility of developing, as a matter of priority, high-level policy guidance for government access to personal data held by the private sector. On 22 December 2020, it issued a statement that reflects its views and concerns related to this issue, and plans for the near future. Read more about OECDs work on the digital economy here.

After two decades of data management being a wild west, consumer mistrust, government action, and competition for customers are bringing in a new era. Firms that generate any value from personal data will need to change the way they acquire it, share it, protect it, and profit from it. They should follow three basic rules: 1) consistently cultivate trust with customers, explaining in common-sense terms how their data is being used and what’s in it for them; 2) focus on extracting insight, not personal identifiable information; and 3) CIOs and CDOs should work together to facilitate the flow of insights, with a common objective of acquiring maximum insight from consented data for the customer’s benefit.

The value of the EU-27 data economy – firms with data processing as their core business model – will expand to 829 billion EUR by 2025, contributing to more than 5% of GDP. But data is playing an increasingly important role in almost every part of our economy. However, unlike other commodities, data is currently characterized by a low level of regulation.

The global battle for control of the digital economy is typically portrayed as one fought by only two titans: US and China, but that does not mean that the EU has been standing still. As this briefing documents, the EU has been making strong efforts to catch up using trade negotiations and trade rules to assert its own interests. In the process, the EU is trying to climb up on the backs of the developing countries, undermining the chance for all to equitably share in the benefits of technological development.

Presented here is a critical enabling framework to allow stakeholders across the data ecosystem to take data exchanges from concept to reality. It lays the groundwork in India and elsewhere for those poised to explore, develop and realize the benefits of a data exchange to accelerate a transition to a data-driven economy.

A new study commissioned by DIGITALEUROPE and conducted by Frontier Economics shows that our policy decisions on international data transfers now will have significant effects on growth and jobs across the whole European economy by 2030, impacting Europe’s Digital Decade goals: The EU can be €2 trillion better off by 2030 if we secure cross-border data transfers.

Sitra the Finnish Innovation Fund is continuing their fine efforts in Fair Data Economy, as it is now becoming a new thematic area. At the same time, the IHAN project, who has funded MyData Global also, is ending as such.

This working paper is intended to stimulate discussion on matters requiring closer investigation when developing the European data economy in the years to come. We want to challenge societal actors and companies to a common debate on the construction of a management model that is fair to all.