Fueling the European Digital Economy: A Regulatory Assessment of B2B Data Sharing

Abstract

Data sharing activities among private players are an important drive for digital-driven innovation, but they are still rare in the European Union. In its general effort to promote a European data economy, the Commission developed a policy aimed at incentivizing B2B data sharing. The article intends to unpack this policy and verify whether its corresponding framework effectively enables B2B data sharing. To address this issue, the article identifies and discusses those factors that favor or hinder B2B data sharing practices in the European Union, including current practices, guidelines and regulation (or lack thereof). To complete the analysis, the article also investigates the conditions under which competition law can affect B2B data sharing. Finally, the author weighs all the issues and factors that have been raised, and discusses the measures to be adopted in order to properly incentivize B2B data sharing.