All regulations / EU Data
Data Act
Know the rule before it knows you.
Users get rights to the data their connected products generate; cloud customers get the right to switch.
What it is
The Data Act gives users of connected products and related services access to the data those products generate, and the right to share it with third parties. It also regulates business-to-business data contracts, limits unfair terms, requires cloud and data-processing services to make switching easy and cheap, and protects against unlawful foreign government access.
This applies to you if
- You make or sell connected devices, vehicles, machines, wearables or smart-home products in the EU
- You provide services linked to such products, or cloud, edge or data-processing services
- You use B2B data contracts with smaller counterparties
What it asks of you
- Design products so that data is accessible by default, and inform users before contracting
- Share data with users and, on request, with third parties, on fair terms
- No unfair terms in data contracts imposed on smaller companies
- For cloud services: switching within set timeframes, no switching charges from 2027, interoperability
What it costs to ignore
Set nationally; GDPR-level fines where personal data is involved.
Key dates
Applicable since 12 September 2025; design obligations for new connected products from 12 September 2026; switching charges abolished from 12 January 2027.
How we help
Not sure which apply to you? Send us three lines about what you sell and to whom, and we will tell you which rules matter and which do not.
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