Data Governance Act guide: what does the DGA regulate and does it affect you?

Short answer: The DGA — Regulation (EU) 2022/868 — has applied since 24 September 2023 and does not govern who is entitled to data (that is the Data Act) but how you can share data in a trusted way. Four pillars: re-use of protected public-sector data, notified data intermediation services, data altruism, and a European advisory board.

The four pillars

1. Re-use of public-sector data — conditions under which data held by public bodies that is protected by others' rights (personal data, IP, confidentiality) may still be re-used.
2. Data intermediation services — parties connecting data providers and users must notify a supervisor and meet neutrality requirements (not using the data for their own purposes; structural separation). This creates trusted intermediaries. See DGA data intermediation.
3. Data altruism — voluntary data sharing for objectives of general interest, via recognised organisations. See DGA and data altruism.
4. European Data Innovation Board — an advisory body that aligns the approach across member states.

Relationship to the Data Act and data spaces

The DGA and the Data Act complement each other: the Data Act grants rights to access and share data; the DGA provides the structures and trust to do so safely. Together they form the legal basis under the EU data spaces — including the mobility data space and the broader European data spaces.

Does it affect me?

If you build or use a service that intermediates data between parties, or you share data for the general interest, the DGA affects you directly. For most organisations the DGA is mainly relevant as an enabler: it makes secure data sharing in chains and data spaces possible.

Lees ook: Data Act: sharing data with third parties.