Europe has spent years arguing that data is the fuel of the digital economy. That is true. Precisely because data is so valuable, not every access point to it should be treated as an opportunity as some are vulnerabilities in today’s world.
The Data Act’s forced data-sharing rules aggravate these vulnerabilities in two ways.
Read the joint letter co-singed by DIGITALEUROPE and a broad coalition of European and national associations, calling for a Digital Omnibus that boosts Europe's competitiveness and technological leadership
First, they create a security problem at the worst possible moment. Western intelligence agencies are warning that China-linked state actors are using networks of compromised connected devices to hide attacks on critical infrastructure, communications networks and democratic institutions1. If hackers can turn everyday devices like routers, cameras and smart appliances into tools for attacks, Europe should be very careful before making industrial companies create new ways into sensitive operational data. The Data Act forces companies to build technical interfaces to access sensitive industrial data. Businesses must keep doors technically available for hypothetical users, at a time when hostile actors are actively looking for new ways in.
The second problem is that the Data Act’s forced data-sharing undermines Europe’s industrial value. The It was built on a reasonable hope: make more data available and stimulate innovation. But the way it does this should alarm every responsible policymaker: its requirements are like asking companies to hand over the keys to a factory they spent years building.
For many companies, data is the new oil, or even the new gold, helping to prevent breakdowns, repairing equipment faster, cutting energy waste, improving safety and keeping industrial know-how and jobs in Europe. The Data Act’s forced data-sharing rules are gambling with 47.9% of EU’s GDP (€7.7 trillion) generated by the IP-intensive industries.
Europe should be very careful before making industrial companies create new ways into sensitive operational data
They are putting 65 million jobs at risk2 – around one in three jobs in the EU. The point is not to stop data sharing: companies already share data voluntarily where it makes commercial or operational sense, using contracts to define purpose, scope and security conditions. Europe’s data economy is indeed projected to reach €631 billion in 2025, bigger than the EU’s entire agriculture sector.
The point is that the EU should support that market, not replace it with a rigid mandate3. Industrial data is already shared every day where . Why would European policymakers force our industrial champions to give away their gold at the very moment Europe is facing a competitiveness crisis? All in all, the result of the Data Act’s obligations is a troubling imbalance: the security and economic risks for Europe are immediate, while the benefits remain uncertain.
The Digital Omnibus is a vital chance to pause and fundamentally revise the Data Act’s mandatory B2B data-sharing rules. It must go beyond modest simplification and remove the core design flaw in the Data Act: the mandatory horizontal access to industrial data.
Precisely because data is so valuable, not every access point to it should be treated as an opportunity as some are vulnerabilities in today’s world
Europe needs a voluntary-by-default model, supported by sectoral codes of conduct that reflect real demand, cybersecurity risks, trade-secret protection and the technical realities of each industry. This would not stop data sharing. It would make it safer, more trusted and more useful.
The Digital Omnibus is the opportunity to correct course. Europe should take it.
List of references
- Financial Times, China hackers steal western secrets by targeting consumer gadgets, 23 April 2026
- EPO/EUIPO, IPR-intensive industries and economic performance in the EU, January 2026.
- European Commission, The European Data Market study 2024-2026; Eurostat, News Article, 2025
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