Europe’s first data intermediation service registered in Finland
Finnish DataSpace Europe is the first data intermediation service registered in Europe. Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom confirmed at the start of January the company’s registration and that it fulfils the conditions of the Data Governance Act. Data economy grows fast and new operators are needed so that Finland can act as the leading country in data economy in the future.
The national legislation based on the Data Governance Act came into force in full on 2 January 2024 when Traficom opened the electronic registration service for data intermediation services. The purpose of data intermediation services, as independent parties, is to enable data to move as agreed between different operators and applications. If a company wants to offer data intermediation services according to the Act, the operations must be registered at Traficom. Traficom delivers the information to the EU Commission that keeps a public register of all providers of data intermediation services.
DataSpace Europe’s Tritom service relays data between, for example, agricultural entrepreneurs, the food supply chain, the food industry and retail trade operators as well as different applications. Its goal is to unite scattered information sources more efficiently and to produce valuable information to farmers, the food industry, commerce and consumers.
“We are very happy that we were the first in Europe to confirm a recognised data intermediator in Finland. Data is one of the most prolific raw materials and its role in developing new services and companies is growing with increasing speed. It is worth taking advantage of the opportunities offered by data”, states the Director of the Traficom Data Economy Network Jenni Koskinen.
The value of European data economy in 2023 was approximately 500 billion euros and data economy is expected to grow around 9 per cent per year.
Data Governance Act sets ground rules for the new operators of data economy
The purpose of the Data Governance Act (DGA) is to increase the availability of data and unify its distribution in the EU. The Act creates rules for data intermediation services. Additionally, it regulates, among other things, the reuse of protected data possessed by the public sector.
The Data Governance Act also aims at promoting data altruism, i.e. the transfer of data for a purpose in the public interest, such as for the needs of healthcare, decision-making, statistics and scientific research. Data altruism organisations can also register in Traficom’s service.
Data intermediation services and recognised data altruism organisations have their own user identifiers that can be used after Traficom has confirmed that the operator fulfils the Data Governance Act requirements. DataSpace Europe can, as the first company, use the user identifiers.
Traficom will also monitor that registered operators comply with the requirements of the Data Governance Act.