The proposal for a free flow of data regulation - a BusinessEurope position paper

Key messages

• Unjustified national localisation measures should no longer restrict the free movement of data. Existing national measures that are unjustified and run counter to this principle should be removed with urgency.
• Member States should be prevented from adopting unjustified national localisation measures in the future. The Commission must be given the powers to fully enforce this through the proposed notification procedure.
• National localisation measures passed by Member States shall only be justified for national security reasons. This must be carefully defined. This proposal should not be used to introduce more exceptions to the free flow of data.
• Only security requirements of the Member State where the data is being processed and stored should apply. To avoid an increase of administrative burdens and legal uncertainty, this should not concern requirements applicable where the data was originally sourced from.
• The scope of the provision on data availability for regulatory control should not be broadened and regulatory controls should happen without prejudice to existing legal obligations.
• Business-to-business data portability can be ensured by industry-led initiatives, assistance and encouragement of market players to draw up self-regulatory codes of conduct or best practice sharing. It will be fundamental to monitor the development and concrete implementation of self-regulatory codes of conduct and best practice sharing to overcome lock-in situations between service providers whilst not disrupting contractual freedom.

What does BusinessEurope aim for?

An end to unjustified data localisation measures to facilitate the free flow of data as a common European principle in the digital single market. A notification procedure that has the teeth to assess whether potential future measures are justified on public security grounds. Encouragement and monitoring of self-regulatory codes of conduct and best practices to assist porting of data between businesses.