Commissioner for Digital Agenda speaks on the value of big data

Mrs. Kroes identifies the main recipients of the positive input of big data:

• The services of the public sector.
  
• New ways for scientists to share, compare and discover.
  
• Empowerment of the citizens.
  

Mrs. Kroes highlights the beginning of a paradigm shift and the difficulties raised by “automatically generated” data, and its impact on industrial processes. She hence proposes three ways to support the upcoming evolution:

• Regulation, to maximize the value and minimize the cost of data. For that matter, Neelie Kroes expresses high expectations for the revised Directive on data protection.
  
• A data protection framework that builds confidence and allows digital innovation. Mrs Kroes advocates for easier cross-border data mechanisms and a single protection Regulation for the whole European Union.
  
• The harmonization of data-formats and licensing conditions in Europe. 
  
• Continue to fund innovation in the area of data products and services, to support a strong European data industry.
  

Mrs. Kroes concludes her speech by highlighting the huge economic potential of “big data” and the importance of a competitive market. 

This emphasis on the value of data by Commissioner Kroes provides a significant counter-balance to the calls by Commissioner Redding for potentially restrictive data protection rules.

• The full transcript of the speech is available here.