What the EU’s new data law means for your business – and why ethical infrastructure matters

As digital systems become more connected, questions of data access, ownership and interoperability are no longer optional. In response to this, the European Union introduced the Data Act, a legislative framework that sets out how data can be accessed and shared across sectors and platforms.

On July 11th 2023, the Data Act was officially adopted. The goal: to ensure that both private and public sector players benefit fairly from the increasing amount of data being generated, while safeguarding European values such as privacy, transparency and competition. The regulation is part of a broader strategy to foster a single market for data and is designed to unlock the potential of industrial and IoT data in particular. According to the European Commission, the law will apply from September 12th 2025 and is expected to have far-reaching consequences for digital infrastructure across industries.

What the Data Act covers

At its core, the Data Act addresses how data generated by connected devices can be accessed and shared. It covers four key areas:

1. Data access and use: Users of connected devices must be able to access the data generated by them. Manufacturers will be required to design products that allow users easy access to their own data.
   
2. Data sharing obligations: Under certain conditions, businesses and public sector bodies will have the right to request access to data held by other organisations.
   
3. Contractual fairness: The act includes provisions to ensure fair contract terms in data-sharing agreements, especially to protect small and medium-sized enterprises.
   
4. Cloud portability and interoperability: Customers must be able to switch between cloud services more easily, without facing vendor lock-in or unfair fees.
   

These measures aim to create a fairer digital economy, where value from data is more evenly distributed and innovation is not stifled by a few dominant players.

The compliance challenge for businesses

While the objectives of the Data Act align with principles of transparency and fairness, compliance introduces new layers of complexity. Companies need to ensure that their data infrastructure is interoperable by design. This means enabling data portability, integrating user consent frameworks and documenting data-sharing processes with clear governance structures.

Additionally, there are technical and legal risks. For example, how to distinguish between personal and non-personal data in mixed datasets, or how to guarantee data sovereignty when using third-party cloud services.

Organisations must also prepare for possible data access requests from public bodies in emergency situations, which adds urgency to setting up auditable and legally sound data processes.

How Unyted aligns with the future of compliant infrastructure

At Unyted, we build digital spaces that are decentralised, interoperable and aligned with the principles outlined in the Data Act. Our platform architecture ensures that organisations can retain full control over their data while enabling secure collaboration across teams, systems and geographies.

We do not rely on closed ecosystems or third-party clouds. Instead, we use modular, sovereign infrastructure that can be integrated into existing workflows. Our identity systems are user-centric, meaning individuals and organisations decide what data is shared and under what conditions.

By design, Unyted enables compliance with the EU’s data strategy while also empowering innovation. Whether you’re building a digital twin, a collaborative workspace or a data-driven simulation, our environments are designed to be fully transparent, portable and scalable.

A user-first approach to digital futures

The adoption of the Data Act marks a significant shift towards ethical digital infrastructure. It is a reminder that the digital economy cannot be built solely on centralised data monopolies, black-box algorithms and locked ecosystems. Users must be empowered with visibility and control.

Unyted was born out of the mission to create a platform where people and businesses collaborate in a way that is secure, compliant and fundamentally ethical. We are at the forefront of the user-first movement, enabling organisations to build systems that reflect trust, ownership and transparency from the ground up.

If you want to learn what secure collaboration looks like in practice, book a free demo today.