Data Intermediaries and the DGA: Understanding and complying with the DISP label

The Data Governance Act (DGA) became applicable on September 24, 2023. Since then a new market for neutral data intermediation service providers (DISPs) is a legal reality. DISPs are envisioned to increase trust in data sharing ecosystems, stimulate the development of common European data spaces, and aid in breaking-up the concentrated market power of Big Tech platforms. The DGA’s regulatory regime for DISPs is not a voluntary scheme, but a mandatory set of obligations, whose compliance may require a business to fundamentally restructure its operations. For this reason, it is vital that stakeholders clearly understand the definition of data intermediation service providers under the DGA, the rights and obligations that accompany the DISP label, the economic viability of the fledgling DISP market, and the technical, legal, and organizational challenges facing DISPs that may be overcome in collaboration with national competent authorities and the European Data Innovation Board.

The panel will approach the issue of successful implementation of DISPs in full compliance with the DGA from an interdisciplinary perspective, bringing together legal and business experts with public, private, and non-profit stakeholders actively engaged with data intermediation. Our panelists will leverage their experience, present results, identify challenges, share best practices, and propose further exchange and collaboration on the topic.

Key points for discussion will entail:

• The definitional criteria for DISPs must be further clarified, while the list of exclusions must be further updated to address current industry structures. The session will seek to outline the definitional criteria for DISPs, flag points of ambiguity, and discuss what further exclusions would be desirable to establish on a sectoral or general basis.
• The DGA’s requirements for DISPs can be demanding. Which of them tend to get misinterpreted, which would be the most challenging to meet, and what are some ways in which businesses are looking to resolve the compliance issue?
• There is currently uncertainty regarding the business models that DISPs should pursue, both in terms of what services the DGA allows intermediaries to offer beyond pure matchmaking, and in terms of the basic economic viability of the DISP market. What additional services are stakeholders offering to facilitate data exchange, and what are their strategies for achieving business sustainability?
• The DGA’s regime is not static – there are doors open for further guidelines, standardization, sectoral legislation, and more. What are the most pressing issues that stakeholders would like to see addressed by national authorities, the European Data Innovation Board, or other bodies, and what room is there for a participative or at least collaborative approach in evolving the DGA’s regime?

Panelists will kick-off the session with presentations,  followed by an interactive part with Q/A from the session facilitators and the audience. We hope to welcome stakeholders and interested actors from different backgrounds and contribute to identifying and overcoming challenges for achieving compliance and business sustainability under the Data Governance Act

Tervel Bobev’s presentation here

Natalie Bertels’ presentation here

Sara Thabit’s presentation here

Viivi Lähteenoja’s presentation here