Data Director, DG CONNECT
One of the EU’s biggest tech regulations looming in the fall, the Data Law, was mostly drafted in Luxembourg, not Brussels. This is where Yvo Volman, Data Manager at the European Commission’s DG CONNECT, and his team are based. The EU data strategy, presented in February 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic, has so far failed to excite. European lawmakers have passed the Data Governance Act, a bill intended to regulate data intermediaries, without too much ceremony. So-called data spaces have received even less attention – the recently launched health data space being an exception.
Now that other major digital rules, such as digital competition and content moderation rules, are negotiated and eliminated, lawmakers are hoping that the Data Act can finally give substance to the EU’s strategy on data protection. data. To be successful, it will be crucial that the parties involved, such as SMEs and customers, understand how they could benefit. Volman could play a crucial role there. The soft-spoken and calm Dutch citizen has a knack for illustrating the provisions of the data law with practical examples – like that of a smart dishwasher, a connected car or a robot. plant.
Another challenge will be to reconcile the data law with multiple other bills that deal with data, such as the data governance law, but also the EU personal data protection rules, the general regulation on data protection. Volman has already made it clear that he has no intention of stepping on GDPR toes. Data law is about “economic rights, it’s not a data protection instrument”, he said of the final data bill ahead of the European Parliament elections in 2024.
What to watch out for this year: If he can hold the line on the EU Data Sharing Bill, and therefore Data Strategy, as Parliament and Council begin work on the Bill.
What is their superpower: Realize the Data Act by giving examples of use, without going against the GDPR.
Influence Rating: 18/30
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