EU to allow companies access to private data to boost innovation

The EU hopes that by giving companies access to more data, it will support businesses to build new services and products but also help researchers tackle societal challenges. — Reuters

The European Union has proposed new rules to allow companies access to public and personal data, an effort to compete with US and Asian giants and encourage innovation in areas like climate change and health.

The rules proposed by the European Commission, the bloc’s executive body, would grant businesses and research organisations access to data normally blocked off due to privacy, commercial confidentiality, or intellectual property rights. It will also make it easier for people to donate their data for non-commercial research.