Published
February 23, 2022
U.S. Chamber Senior Vice President for European Affairs Marjorie Chorlins issued the following statement after the publication of the European Commission’s proposal for a new Data Act:
“The U.S. Chamber acknowledges publication of the European Commission’s proposal for a new Data Act. We share the Commission’s desire to see a connected and competitive digital economy in Europe. However, we are concerned about potential new restrictions on cross-border data flows for non-personal, industrial data. We are also concerned about provisions that would mandate certain companies to share proprietary data with their competitors and with governments, without sufficient privacy safeguards. We support frameworks that encourage data sharing when it is in market participants’ mutual interests, but data sharing mandates such as what is envisaged in the Data Act will dissuade companies from investing in R&D or other critical activities in Europe. Finally, we have significant concerns about provisions which would limit companies’ ability to do business with or share data with companies deemed “gatekeepers” pursuant to the EU’s proposed Digital Markets Act.
Taken together, these provisions of the draft Data Act may unintentionally weaken Europe’s ability to compete in the digital marketplace globally. We look forward to a robust dialogue with policymakers as this proposal continues to develop.”
About the authors
Marjorie Chorlins
Marjorie A. Chorlins is senior vice president for European Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Executive Director of the U.S.-UK Business Council.
