Data Rights

Data law in Belgium provides a legal framework regulating the use, access and ownership of data. It makes no distinction between personal data (which are also covered by the data protection law include) and non-personal data (such as corporate data or machine-generated data).

Key legislation within data law

1. Open Data Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/1024): This directive promotes the re-use of public sector information by establishing common rules for data held by government agencies. The goal is to make public and publicly funded data reusable for both commercial and non-commercial purposes.
2. Data Governance Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2022/868): This regulation, also known as the Data Governance Act (DGA), aims to make more data available for reuse and facilitate data sharing in sectors such as health, environment, energy and mobility. The DGA provides rules and safeguards to facilitate reuse of protected data, such as personal data and commercially confidential information, where other laws allow for it.
3. Data Regulation: Regulation (EU) 2023/2854, also known as the Data Act (DA), aims to ensure fair allocation of the value of data to stakeholders in the data economy. The Data Act clarifies who can make use of what data and under what conditions, with the goal of equitably distributing the benefits derived from data among stakeholders, fostering a competitive data market and creating opportunities for data-driven innovation.

The latter two regulations derive from the European data strategy which was launched in 2020.

Interaction between data law and sui generis database law

Although data law and sui generis databasesrecht closely related, they have different purposes. The sui generis database law is an intellectual property right that seeks to protect a database producer from competitors. Rather, data law focuses on the open use and access of data.

Interaction between data law and data protection law

Although data law and data protection law closely linked, they have different focal points. Data protection law, primarily enshrined in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), focuses on the protection of personal data and the privacy of individuals. Data law, on the other hand, deals more broadly with the management and regulation of data, including non-personal data.

The interaction between the two jurisdictions is reflected when personal data is shared or reused. For example, the reuse of government information under the Open Data Directive must follow the principles of the AVG to ensure the privacy of individuals. The Data Governance Regulation also emphasizes that data sharing must be done with full respect for privacy and confidentiality, and provides mechanisms to ensure this.

It is essential for organizations and government agencies to understand and apply both the rules of data law and data protection law. This strikes a balance between promoting data-driven innovation and protecting the rights and freedoms of individuals.