The EC Published New Guidelines on the Interaction of the Free Movement of Non-Personal Data

The European Commission publishes new guidelines on the interaction of the free movement of non-personal data with EU data protection standards.

By virtue of the new free movement of non-personal data introduced in the Digital Single Market Strategy, which is being implemented in the Member States, data can be stored and processed anywhere in the EU without unjustified restrictions. Today's guidelines aim to help consumers, and in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, understand the synergy between the new provisions and the General Data Protection Regulation (ARRD).

Commissioner for Digital Economy and Digital Society, Maria Gabriel, said: "Our economy is increasingly based on data. The Regulation on the Freedom of Movement of Non-Personal Data and the General Data Protection Regulation constitute a comprehensive set-up of the Common European Data Space and the free movement of data within the European Union. The guidelines we are publishing today will help businesses, especially small and medium-sized businesses, understand the interaction between the two regulations. "

The guidelines presented today contain practical examples of how companies applying data sets consisting of personal and non-personal data should apply the rules. The guidelines also explain what personal and non-personal data, including mixed data sets, is; the principles of free movement of data introduced by the General Data Protection Regulation and the Regulation on the free movement of non-personal data and the impossibility of requiring localization of the data; the concept of portability of data under the Regulation on the free movement of non-personal data is considered. The guidelines also cover the self-regulatory requirements set out in the two...