Digital Governance Act 2022/0868 EN

1. For the purpose of carrying out the tasks referred to in this Article, each Member State shall designate one or more competent bodies, which may be competent for particular sectors, to assist the public sector bodies which grant or refuse access for the re-use of the categories of data referred to in Article 3(1). Member States may either establish one or more new competent bodies or rely on existing public sector bodies or on internal services of public sector bodies that fulfil the conditions laid down in this Regulation.

2. The competent bodies may be empowered to grant access for the re-use of the categories of data referred to in Article 3(1) pursuant to Union or national law which provides for such access to be granted. Where they grant or refuse access for the re-use, Articles 4, 5, 6 and 9 shall apply to those competent bodies.

3. The competent bodies shall have adequate legal, financial, technical and human resources to carry out the tasks assigned to them, including the necessary technical knowledge to be able to comply with relevant Union or national law concerning the access regimes for the categories of data referred to in Article 3(1).

4. The assistance provided for in paragraph 1 shall include, where necessary:

(a)	providing technical support by making available a secure processing environment for providing access for the re-use of data;

(b)	providing guidance and technical support on how to best structure and store data to make that data easily accessible;

(c)

providing technical support for pseudonymisation and ensuring data processing in a manner that effectively preserves the privacy, confidentiality, integrity and accessibility of the information contained in the data for which re-use is allowed, including techniques for the anonymisation, generalisation, suppression and randomisation of personal data or other state-of-the-art privacy-preserving methods, and the deletion of commercially confidential information, including trade secrets or content protected by intellectual property rights;

(d)

assisting the public sector bodies, where relevant, to provide support to re-users in requesting consent for re-use from data subjects or permission from data holders in line with their specific decisions, including on the jurisdiction in which the data processing is intended to take place and assisting the public sector bodies in establishing technical mechanisms that allow the transmission of requests for consent or permission from re-users, where practically feasible;

(e)	providing public sector bodies with assistance in assessing the adequacy of contractual commitments made by a re-user pursuant to Article 5(10).

5. Each Member State shall notify the Commission of the identity of the competent bodies designated pursuant to paragraph 1 by 24 September 2023. Each Member State shall also notify the Commission of any subsequent change to the identity of those competent bodies.

Article 8

Single information points

1. Member States shall ensure that all relevant information concerning the application of Articles 5 and 6 is available and easily accessible through a single information point. Member States shall establish a new body or designate an existing body or structure as the single information point. The single information point may be linked to sectoral, regional or local information points. The functions of the single information point may be automated provided that the public_sector_body ensures adequate support.

2. The single information point shall be competent to receive enquiries or requests for the re-use of the categories of data referred to in Article 3(1) and shall transmit them, where possible and appropriate by automated means, to the competent public sector bodies, or the competent bodies referred to in Article 7(1), where relevant. The single information point shall make available by electronic means a searchable asset list containing an overview of all available data resources including, where relevant, those data resources that are available at sectoral, regional or local information points, with relevant information describing the available data, including at least the data format and size and the conditions for their re-use.

3. The single information point may establish a separate, simplified and well-documented information channel for SMEs and start-ups, addressing their needs and capabilities in requesting the re-use of the categories of data referred to in Article 3(1).

4. The Commission shall establish a European single access point offering a searchable electronic register of data available in the national single information points and further information on how to request data via those national single information points.

Article 11

Notification by data intermediation services providers

1. Any data intermediation services provider who intends to provide the data intermediation services referred to in Article 10 shall submit a notification to the competent authority for data intermediation services.

2. For the purposes of this Regulation, a data intermediation services provider with establishments in more than one Member State shall be deemed to be under the jurisdiction of the Member State in which it has its main_establishment, without prejudice to Union law regulating cross-border actions for damages and related proceedings.

3. A data intermediation services provider that is not established in the Union, but which offers the data intermediation services referred to in Article 10 within the Union, shall designate a legal_representative in one of the Member States in which those services are offered.

For the purpose of ensuring compliance with this Regulation, the legal_representative shall be mandated by the data intermediation services provider to be addressed in addition to or instead of it by competent authorities for data intermediation services or data subjects and data holders, with regard to all issues related to the data intermediation services provided. The legal_representative shall cooperate with and comprehensively demonstrate to the competent authorities for data intermediation services, upon request, the actions taken and provisions put in place by the data intermediation services provider to ensure compliance with this Regulation.

The data intermediation services provider shall be deemed to be under the jurisdiction of the Member State in which the legal_representative is located. The designation of a legal_representative by the data intermediation services provider shall be without prejudice to any legal actions which could be initiated against the data intermediation services provider.

4. After having submitted a notification in accordance with paragraph 1, the data intermediation services provider may start the activity subject to the conditions laid down in this Chapter.

5. The notification referred to in paragraph 1 shall entitle the data intermediation services provider to provide data intermediation services in all Member States.

6. The notification referred to in paragraph 1 shall include the following information:

(a)	the name of the data intermediation services provider;

(b)	the data intermediation services provider’s legal status, form, ownership structure, relevant subsidiaries and, where the data intermediation services provider is registered in a trade or other similar public national register, registration number;

(c)	the address of the data intermediation services provider’s main_establishment in the Union, if any, and, where applicable, of any secondary branch in another Member State or that of the legal_representative;

(d)	a public website where complete and up-to-date information on the data intermediation services provider and the activities can be found, including as a minimum the information referred to in points (a), (b), (c) and (f);

(e)	the data intermediation services provider’s contact persons and contact details;

(f)	a description of the data intermediation service the data intermediation services provider intends to provide, and an indication of the categories listed in Article 10 under which such data intermediation service falls;

(g)	the estimated date for starting the activity, if different from the date of the notification.

7. The competent authority for data intermediation services shall ensure that the notification procedure is non-discriminatory and does not distort the competition.

8. At the request of the data intermediation services provider, the competent authority for data intermediation services shall, within one week of a duly and fully completed notification, issue a standardised declaration, confirming that the data intermediation services provider has submitted the notification referred to in paragraph 1 and that the notification contains the information referred to in paragraph 6.

9. At the request of the data intermediation services provider, the competent authority for data intermediation services shall confirm that the data intermediation services provider complies with this Article and Article 12. Upon receipt of such a confirmation, that data intermediation services provider may use the label ‘ data intermediation services provider recognised in the Union’ in its written and spoken communication, as well as a common logo.

In order to ensure that data intermediation services providers recognised in the Union are easily identifiable throughout the Union, the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, establish a design for the common logo. Data intermediation services providers recognised in the Union shall display the common logo clearly on every online and offline publication that relates to their data intermediation activities.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 33(2).

10. The competent authority for data intermediation services shall notify the Commission of each new notification by electronic means without delay. The Commission shall keep and regularly update a public register of all data intermediation services providers providing their services in the Union. The information referred to in paragraph 6, points (a), (b), (c), (d), (f) and (g), shall be published in the public register.

11. The competent authority for data intermediation services may charge fees for the notification in accordance with national law. Such fees shall be proportionate and objective and be based on the administrative costs related to the monitoring of compliance and other market control activities of the competent authority for data intermediation services in relation to notifications of data intermediation services providers. In the case of SMEs and start-ups, the competent authority for data intermediation services may charge a discounted fee or waive the fee.

12. Data intermediation services providers shall notify the competent authority for data intermediation services of any changes to the information provided pursuant to paragraph 6 within 14 days of the date of the change.

13. Where a data intermediation services provider ceases its activities, it shall notify the relevant competent authority for data intermediation services determined pursuant to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 within 15 days.

14. The competent authority for data intermediation services shall notify the Commission of each notification referred to in paragraphs 12 and 13 by electronic means without delay. The Commission shall update the public register of the data intermediation services providers in the Union accordingly.

Article 12

Conditions for providing data intermediation services

The provision of data intermediation services referred in Article 10 shall be subject to the following conditions:

(a)	the data intermediation services provider shall not use the data for which it provides data intermediation services for purposes other than to put them at the disposal of data users and shall provide data intermediation services through a separate legal person;

(b)

the commercial terms, including pricing, for the provision of data intermediation services to a data holder or data user shall not be dependent upon whether the data holder or data user uses other services provided by the same data intermediation services provider or by a related entity, and if so to what degree the data holder or data user uses such other services;

(c)

the data collected with respect to any activity of a natural or legal person for the purpose of the provision of the data intermediation service, including the date, time and geolocation data, duration of activity and connections to other natural or legal persons established by the person who uses the data intermediation service, shall be used only for the development of that data intermediation service, which may entail the use of data for the detection of fraud or cybersecurity, and shall be made available to the data holders upon request;

(d)

the data intermediation services provider shall facilitate the exchange of the data in the format in which it receives it from a data subject or a data holder, shall convert the data into specific formats only to enhance interoperability within and across sectors or if requested by the data user or where mandated by Union law or to ensure harmonisation with international or European data standards and shall offer an opt-out possibility regarding those conversions to data subjects or data holders, unless the conversion is mandated by Union law;

(e)

data intermediation services may include offering additional specific tools and services to data holders or data subjects for the specific purpose of facilitating the exchange of data, such as temporary storage, curation, conversion, anonymisation and pseudonymisation, such tools being used only at the explicit request or approval of the data holder or data subject and third-party tools offered in that context not being used for other purposes;

(f)	the data intermediation services provider shall ensure that the procedure for access to its service is fair, transparent and non-discriminatory for both data subjects and data holders, as well as for data users, including with regard to prices and terms of service;

(g)	the data intermediation services provider shall have procedures in place to prevent fraudulent or abusive practices in relation to parties seeking access through its data intermediation services;

(h)

the data intermediation services provider shall, in the event of its insolvency, ensure a reasonable continuity of the provision of its data intermediation services and, where such data intermediation services ensure the storage of data, shall have mechanisms in place to allow data holders and data users to obtain access to, to transfer or to retrieve their data and, where such data intermediation services are provided between data subjects and data users, to allow data subjects to exercise their rights;

(i)	the data intermediation services provider shall take appropriate measures to ensure interoperability with other data intermediation services, inter alia, by means of commonly used open standards in the sector in which the data intermediation services provider operates;

(j)	the data intermediation services provider shall put in place adequate technical, legal and organisational measures in order to prevent the transfer of or access to non-personal data that is unlawful under Union law or the national law of the relevant Member State;

(k)	the data intermediation services provider shall without delay inform data holders in the event of an unauthorised transfer, access or use of the non-personal data that it has shared;

(l)

the data intermediation services provider shall take necessary measures to ensure an appropriate level of security for the storage, processing and transmission of non-personal data, and the data intermediation services provider shall further ensure the highest level of security for the storage and transmission of competitively sensitive information;

(m)

the data intermediation services provider offering services to data subjects shall act in the data subjects’ best interest where it facilitates the exercise of their rights, in particular by informing and, where appropriate, advising data subjects in a concise, transparent, intelligible and easily accessible manner about intended data uses by data users and standard terms and conditions attached to such uses before data subjects give consent;

(n)

where a data intermediation services provider provides tools for obtaining consent from data subjects or permissions to process data made available by data holders, it shall, where relevant, specify the third-country jurisdiction in which the data use is intended to take place and provide data subjects with tools to both give and withdraw consent and data holders with tools to both give and withdraw permissions to process data;

(o)	the data intermediation services provider shall maintain a log record of the data intermediation activity.

Article 17

Public registers of recognised data altruism organisations

1. Each competent authority for the registration of data altruism organisations shall keep and regularly update a public national register of recognised data altruism organisations.

2. The Commission shall maintain a public Union register of recognised data altruism organisations for information purposes. Provided that an entity is registered in the public national register of recognised data altruism organisations in accordance with Article 18, it may use the label ‘ data altruism organisation recognised in the Union’ in its written and spoken communication, as well as a common logo.

In order to ensure that recognised data altruism organisations are easily identifiable throughout the Union, the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, establish a design for the common logo. Recognised data altruism organisations shall display the common logo clearly on every online and offline publication that relates to their data altruism activities. The common logo shall be accompanied by a QR code with a link to the public Union register of recognised data altruism organisations.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 33(2).

Article 21

Specific requirements to safeguard rights and interests of data subjects and data holders with regard to their data

1. A recognised data altruism organisation shall inform data subjects or data holders prior to any processing of their data in a clear and easily comprehensible manner of:

(a)	the objectives of general interest and, if applicable, the specified, explicit and legitimate purpose for which personal data is to be processed, and for which it permits the processing of their data by a data user;

(b)	the location of and the objectives of general interest for which it permits any processing carried out in a third country, where the processing is carried out by the recognised data altruism organisation.

2. The recognised data altruism organisation shall not use the data for other objectives than those of general interest for which the data subject or data holder allows the processing. The recognised data altruism organisation shall not use misleading marketing practices to solicit the provision of data.

3. The recognised data altruism organisation shall provide tools for obtaining consent from data subjects or permissions to process data made available by data holders. The recognised data altruism organisation shall also provide tools for easy withdrawal of such consent or permission.

4. The recognised data altruism organisation shall take measures to ensure an appropriate level of security for the storage and processing of non-personal data that it has collected based on data altruism.

5. The recognised data altruism organisation shall, without delay, inform data holders in the event of any unauthorised transfer, access or use of the non-personal data that it has shared.

6. Where the recognised data altruism organisation facilitates data processing by third parties, including by providing tools for obtaining consent from data subjects or permissions to process data made available by data holders, it shall, where relevant, specify the third-country jurisdiction in which the data use is intended to take place.

Article 25

European data altruism consent form

1. In order to facilitate the collection of data based on data altruism, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts establishing and developing a European data altruism consent form, after consulting the European Data Protection Board, taking into account the advice of the European Data Innovation Board and duly involving relevant stakeholders. The form shall allow the collection of consent or permission across Member States in a uniform format. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 33(2).

2. The European data altruism consent form shall use a modular approach allowing customisation for specific sectors and for different purposes.

3. Where personal data are provided, the European data altruism consent form shall ensure that data subjects are able to give consent to and withdraw consent from a specific data processing operation in compliance with the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2016/679.

4. The form shall be available in a manner that can be printed on paper and is easily understandable as well as in an electronic, machine-readable form.

CHAPTER V

Competent authorities and procedural provisions

whereas

keyboard_tab Digital Governance Act 2022/0868 EN

Digital Governance Act 2022/0868 EN