A Tech Policy Press article examines the challenges and potential of data portability within the EU's regulatory framework.
Article 20 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) allows individuals to transfer their personal data between various online services. However, despite its legal foundation, data portability remains underutilised. Existing tools, like Google Takeout and Facebook's data transfer options, offer only manual downloads and lack viable destinations for ported data, creating a chicken-and-egg problem. As a consequence, users have little incentive to move data, and new services struggle to compete without access to user data.
However, the article argues that the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) presents an opportunity to address these challenges. Article 6(9) of the DMA mandates that designated "gatekeepers" provide effective data portability, including continuous and real-time access to data, to both end-users and authorised third parties, free of charge. By expanding the scope of transferable data and requiring real-time access, this provision has the potential to significantly enhance the utility of data portability and foster greater competition in digital markets.
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