Data circulation and legal safeguards: A European perspective

The collection, analysis and circulation of data are revolutionizing many sectors of our society and economy, including communication, healthcare, education, transport and safety. For businesses, data analysis and processing offer new opportunities, increasing efficiency and productivity. For the public sector, better use of data enables more efficient, transparent and personalized services. For scientists, open data and open results allow new ways to share, compare and discover new fields of research. For citizens, data are carriers of more information and more advanced services and applications. From a legal point of view, the collection, analysis and circulation of data raise complex questions regarding ownership, transfer and access to data, and legislators and regulators are looking for effective approaches to guarantee fundamental rights such as the protection of personal data, consumers and competition.