The CEOs of five major EU tech groups have asked Brussels to change proposed legislation on data sharing, saying the new rules would force them to give up trade secrets and give China a competitive edge.
The speech by the heads of SAP, Brainlab, Datev, Siemens and Siemens Healthineers — a separate company — marks the latest backlash by tech companies against the EU’s Data Act, part of a series of digital rules aimed at giving Europe a competitive advantage on data access.
The managing directors wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calls for a pause to allow for changes to the proposals, which stems from a feeling among European regulators that the bloc has lost ground to the United States in the past. The latest plans would force companies to share data with users, other businesses and governments.
Executives said the plans “could do permanent damage to the competitiveness of some of Europe’s most successful companies employing millions of people. Furthermore, we believe it could pose serious risks to cyber security and safety”.
The letter, organized by business group DigitalEurope, is also addressed to Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner, Thierry Breton, who is responsible for implementing the block’s digital rules, and the Swedish presidency of the EU, which represents member states.
“The Internet of Things is an area where European companies are leading the way,” the executives said. “Companies have invested years in [research and development]developing data-driven products and services.
“By forcing data sharing, we are breaking the backbone of Europe’s future data-driven business models, with little guarantee of what comes next.”
Stefan Vilsmeier, chief executive of health technology group Brainlab, said the plans would force companies to disclose too much commercial information and “weaken the European economy to compete with [others]especially China”.
Bernd Montag, chief executive officer of Siemens Healthineers, a medical device company, said the proposal would roll back safety requirements for its products. “Both patients and healthcare workers could be harmed if malicious entities were to tamper with the safety, security or quality of medical devices,” he said.
The letter comes as member states and lawmakers debate “outstanding policy issues,” according to a progress report on Sweden’s EU presidency plan that was seen by the Financial Times.
These issues include: limits on the use of data by institutions such as the commission; excluding small businesses; whether some EU institutions should be exempt from the rules; and how to share data in emergencies.
Sweden hopes to reach a common position among member states by June 27, the document said. For the bill to pass, they and the European Parliament need to agree on a final text.
Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, director general of DigitalEurope, urged a delay, saying “we seem to be going through the legislative process like a runaway train”.
The industry groups have already issued a joint statement condemning the Data Act as a “leap into the unknown”. This month, the Global Data Alliance, a group of companies promoting high standards for data transfers, called on regulators to clarify ambiguities in the bill.
Responding to business concerns, Breton told the FT in February: ‘Every time I introduce new legislation in the digital sphere, [businesses] start worrying.” You said the Data Act would help build the “European data market that has eluded us in the past”.
Other EU-imposed data rules have also drawn the ire of companies.
The landmark Digital Markets Act, aimed at curb the power of Big Tech, also puts emphasis on big players sharing data with smaller rivals. Companies like Google and Amazon are in discussions with the commission about how to comply with the rules following intense lobbying to try to water them down.
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