Minister Berner: European data economy holds an opportunity for growth

Ministry of Transport and Communications
Publication date 23.5.2017 14.29
News item

The European Commission has published a press release concerning the mid-term review of the digital single market. It is a part of the Commission's mid-term review. In the mid-term review, the Commission reviews new initiatives related to, for example, online trade, network roaming, and personal data.

Minister of Transport and Communications Anne Berner says that according to the mid-term review, there has been considerable progress in the EU's pursuit of creating a digital single market. For example, the modernized data protection rules are the most ambitious in the world.

"Still, there are areas that need more attention-such as online platforms, cybersecurity, and the data economy," says Minister of Transport and Communications Berner in her blog post at the website of the Permanent representation of Finland to the European Union.

For online platforms, the Commission is preparing measures for tackling unjust terms and trade practices found in the relationships between plat-forms and companies. One objective is also to remove illegal content more effectively. The Commission wants to improve the cybersecurity of both the functions that are essential for society and of devices that are connected to the Internet.

In the field of data economy, the Commission is preparing a bill for portability of data other than personal data inside the EU, and an initiative for the availability and reuse of data that is public and has been publicly funded. The Commission is continuing its evaluation of responsibilities and other emerging factors related to data.

European data economy has great potential for growth if the chosen policies are favourable to it.

"When it comes to data economy instead of fragmented regulations, we need overarching principles for data use that will then be applied through sectorial work," Berner says.

"These principles would ensure the coherence of operations and also make sure that each sector would take into account, for example, information security and the right of individuals to manage their own data. "These guiding principles would ensure that we have a digital single market that allows us to create better services and fully acknowledge the rights of individuals in the digital world," Berner says.

The digital single market is one of the priorities of the current European Commission. The objective of the digital single market strategy is to strengthen growth and create new jobs.

"European companies can become global game-changers in the data economy if the EU is able to provide them with an environment that encourages innovation. The digital single market has had a promising start and now is the time to show courage and follow through on the changes," Berner writes in her blog post.