Subject files - Free flow of non-personal data in the European Union - Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

The Regulation on the “free flow of non-personal data” entered into force in December 2018. The overarching objective of the Regulation is to unlock the massive potential of the EU data market by creating a more competitive and integrated internal market for data storage services and other data processing services. At the heart of the law is a ban on data localisation measures.

This means that Member State governments or administrations are prohibited from setting any requirements for data to be located in a specific territory in the Union, except on grounds of public security.

The law also provides that competent authorities may not be refused access to data on the grounds that that data is stored or is being processed in another Member State. And it encourages data service providers to develop EU-level codes of conduct on best practices when it comes to professional users switching data storage providers.