DGA (Data Governance Act) – AID identifies areas of uncertainty regarding the conditions under which data intermediation is carried out

AID, Association pour l’intermédiation des données (Association for Data Intermediation), notes a legal limbo regarding the application of the DGA (Data Governance Act), the European regulation on data governance, which comes into force in the European Union on September 24, 2023. AID is ready to provide its expertise on these crucial issues.

At a time when trust and transparency are key to developing a data market that respects European regulations and values, particularly in terms of controlling their uses, Data Intermediation Service Providers (DISPs) and their users, grouped within AID, wish to draw the attention of public authorities to the conditions of application of the DGA for existing players.

“Many questions arise for the members of our association“, says Sébastien Picardat, President of AID and CEO of Agdatahub, “the current situation deserves clarification before the joint commission on the SREN bill is held“.

The answers to be provided and the positions to be taken by the French and European authorities are just as necessary for the members of AID as for the other existing players. Without clarification, some of these players could be tempted to take the plunge for lack of precise knowledge of the new regulation’s requirements.

The first question is a key one, as it has a number of corollaries: does the DGA introduce a compulsory regime for any company providing intermediation services as defined?

If the answer is yes, are data holders or users obliged to use PSIDs that comply with the DGA’s obligations?

These initial questions, which concern the scope of the DGA and data users and holders, are far from trivial. They lead to further questions about sharing mechanisms, labeling criteria, sanctions and information from competent authorities to stakeholders, as well as interoperability and the digital commons.

2024 is a key year for developing and strengthening the confidence of economic players and citizens in data sharing and intermediation. In fact, the European vision, which has been largely supported by France from the outset of the regulatory and legal reflections, could be implemented right now, even as the first data intermediaries are being registered by other member states within the EU register of data intermediation services.

About AID, Association for Data Intermediation

AID was created in November 2023 by Agdatahub, Apidae Tourisme, Dawex, Hub One DataTrust, Orange Business and Promotheus-X, with the support of Banque des Territoires. In particular, it aims to define the general policy and strategy for all cross-functional issues relating to intermediation and data space activities. To this end, its mission is to represent Data Intermediation Service Providers (DISPs), as well as the users of these data intermediation services, in dealings with public authorities in France and Europe.

During the event “Plateformes d’intermédiation de la donnée : de l’expérimentation à l’industrialisation” (Data intermediation platforms: from experimentation to industrialization) organized in november by the Banque des Territoires, Agdatahub, APIDAE, Dawex, Hub One DataTrust, Orange Business and Prometheus-X announced the creation of the Association pour l’Intermédiation de Données (AID), as founding members. Banque des Territoires will also join the association as an associate member.

A strong ambition and balanced representation of all players

As indicated by the European Commission in its Data Governance Act (DGA), the economic and societal potential of data is enormous. It can help develop new products and services based on new technologies, contribute to economic development and the attractiveness of regions, enable more efficient management of public services, and provide tools for tackling societal and environmental challenges. However, there is still considerable room for progress, due to a lack of trust, transparency and security when it comes to sharing, exchanging, reusing and collecting data.

That’s why, as the professional association for players in the data intermediation business in France (a regulated activity under the terms of the Data Governance Act), the AID association aims to contribute fully to consultations upstream of public policies promoting data transactions within a system based on trust, transparency and security.

To this end, the association is organized around 4 colleges of members:

A clear vision of the role of data intermediation in value chains

The action plan drawn up by the various colleges is designed to lay the foundations for the long-term organization of the association’s work. At the heart of this work is an observatory of best practices for the benefit of all members.

“Our shared aim is to develop trust, transparency and security in data transactions, based on strong guarantees,” explains Sébastien Picardat, Chairman of AID and Managing Director of Agdatahub. “Far from starting from a blank sheet of paper, we are building on the best practices already in place in each of the association’s members, to share them, and even strengthen and improve them where possible.“

Initially, this work will focus on 3 areas, drawing on expertise from outside the association:

In addition to exchanges between members, AID intends to lay the foundations for a dialogue with all professional players in data intermediation at European level, with a view to promoting the construction of a single European data market.

“This future dialogue, which we hope to conduct with sister associations from other European countries, seems to us necessary to guarantee a strong voice for community players in the face of a constantly evolving world. In fact, AID’s vision of data intermediation is based first and foremost on the ethical use of data through the expression of informed authorizations by each of the players involved,” concludes Sébastien Picardat.