Access to Data in the Digital Economy: Recommendations, Initiatives, Prospects

Abstract

This article assesses how compatible Russia’s legal regime for digital data is with the implementation of international standards and best practices. Data is a key resource for developing a digital economy, and therefore the conditions provided for access to data and data sharing become factors in the well-being of an information society and in the qualitative development of competitive digital markets. As an illustration of the applicable international standards, the article provides legal analysis of the OECD Recommendation on Enhancing Access to and Sharing of Data from 2021, which is concerned primarily with ensuring the trustworthiness of the data ecosystem; and the essential element for that is a reliable legal regime protecting data. Governments should therefore provide balanced measures for facilitating both access to and sharing of data in order to allow more freedom for data to circulate while maintaining the legal guarantees of the data regimes. As an illustration of the best international regulatory practices, the article analyzes the recently adopted EU Data Governance Act, which addresses three main topics: the reuse of protected data in the public sector, the configuration of providers of data sharing services, and the introduction of what is termed data altruism. The authors examine the main gaps and shortcomings in Russian legislation pertaining to personal data in order to identify ways in which implementation of international standards and practices might be hindered. The article concludes with the authors’ argument that amendments to Federal Law No. 152 “On Personal Data” are necessary to improve the ability of personal data subjects to manage their data, as this is an essential condition for the development of a trustworthy data ecosystem in Russia.