Signapore and South Korea signed a Digital Economy Agreement that supports the release of Open Government Information and collaboration related to Data Innovation. This includes data sharing projects, the development of policies and standards for data portability, and sharing best practice approaches to data innovation

The UK and Ukraine signed a Digital Trade Agreement that supports the release of Open Government Information and collaboration related to Data Innovation. This includes data sharing projects, the development of policies and standards for data portability, and sharing best practice approaches to data trusts

The German Bundestag passed the "Gesundheitsdatennutzungsgesetz" (GDNG) on March 22, 2024, aimed at improving the use of health data for public welfare-oriented research and the data-based development of the healthcare system. This law regulates the processing of health data for research, healthcare improvement, and other public interest purposes. It establishes a central data access and coordination office within the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices to support and advise users on accessing health data. The GDNG also introduces measures to enhance data protection, ensure transparency, and promote the secondary use of health data. It mandates the establishment of a public metadata catalog, an application register, and a secure processing environment for linking and processing pseudonymized health data from various sources.

The New Zealand Government is introducing the Customer and Product Data Bill to establish a Consumer Data Right, empowering individuals and businesses with greater control over their data. Initially targeting the banking and electricity sectors, this legislation allows customers to securely access and share their data with accredited third parties. By standardizing data exchange and ensuring security, the bill aims to unlock the full potential of customer data, enabling the creation of innovative, data-driven products and services.

The Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) is an international treaty aimed at facilitating digital trade and cooperation among New Zealand, Singapore, Chile, and, as of May 2024, South Korea. DEPA establishes common frameworks and standards for aspects of the digital economy such as data governance, digital identities, artificial intelligence, and e-commerce. Article 9.4 of DEPA, on Data Innovation, emphasizes the importance of cross-border data flows and data sharing for data-driven innovation. It recognizes the role of regulatory data sandboxes for sharing data, promotes data sharing mechanisms, and commit the parties to collaborating on data-sharing projects and mechanisms. Article 9.5 supports open government data.

The European Parliament and the Council reached a political agreement on the Commission proposal for the European Health Data Space (EHDS) in April 2024. The EHDS aims to empower citizens by granting them control over their health data and facilitating health data use for research under strict conditions across the EU. This initiative will provide citizens with immediate access to their digital health data anywhere in the EU, improving patient care and decision-making. The provisional agreement still needs to be formally approved by the Council.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has introduced the "Forschungsdatengesetz" (FDG). The act's primary goals are to establish a micro data center, simplify and expand access to public sector data, create linking options, and make data protection more research-friendly. It also aims to improve the findability of research data by mandating public research institutions to create metadata catalogues based on standardized metadata. These catalogues will be integrated into a central search platform to promote and network research collaborations. The FDG will regulate researchers' access rights to various types of public data and establish a one-stop shop with remote access capabilities for researchers. The cabinet will discuss the FDG in the last quarter of 2024..

The European Commission and Japan, have signed a protocol centred on cross-border data flows between the two entities. The agreement aims to eliminate data localization requirements and will allow both parties to manage data  without onerous administrative or storage obligations. Upon ratification, the agreed-upon provisions will be integrated into the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). 

The European Council and Parliament have reached an agreement on the new Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) to enhance product transparency and sustainability. The ESPR will introduce the Digital Product Passport as a cross-sectoral tool across the EU. A product's Digital Product Passport will provide detailed information about that product's environmental attributes, such as durability, reparability, disposal details, and availability of spare parts, accessible through a simple data scan. 

The Consumer Data Right (CDR) in Australia, overseen by the Australian Government and managed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), enables individuals and businesses to access and share their data securely with accredited third parties. Initially implemented in the banking and energy sectors, the CDR is an opt-in service designed to provide greater choice, control, and convenience. The Australian Government plans to expand the CDR to additional sectors.

Transport Minister Jesse Norman launched the TRIB Transport Digital Twin Vision and Roadmap to 2035 on June 22, 2023. Developed by Connected Places Catapult for the Department for Transport’s Transport Research and Innovation Board (TRIB), this roadmap outlines a series of activities and initiatives aimed at creating a trusted ecosystem of connected digital twins for UK transport networks. The roadmap includes establishing a framework to facilitate trusted data flow and sharing across the transport sector ecosystem of connected digital twins. It aims to define common standards and legal frameworks to enable interoperability and data access, develop a governance framework around data sharing and management, and design a data framework to coordinate different systems based on data requirements and data sharing protocols.

This report from Agence Française de Développement provides a survey of digital freedoms in 26 French-speaking countries in Africa. It relies on desk research and interviews filtered through a methodology from Freedom House to score each country. It then provides a series of recommendations on policies and actions that governments and other stakeholders could take in the short, medium, and long term to build digital freedoms across Africa.

The Commission published a list of high-value datasets that public sector bodies will have to make available for re-use, free of charge, within 16 months.The Regulation is set up under the Open Data Directive, which defines six categories of such high-value datasets: geospatial, earth observation and environment, meteorological, statistics, companies and mobility. 

This  proposal contains elements to strengthen the links between and general consistency of all EU social statistics based on persons and households. The proposal contains provisions aimed at developing a harmonised definition of population based on sound statistical concepts for all outputs, and to facilitate access to available data sources that will improve the production processes and general quality of social statistics.

The National Geospatial Policy, 2021 is a citizen-centric policy that liberalizes the geospatial sector and democratizes the datasets generated by use of public funds.

The Japanese Government Cabinet adopted the Digital Garden City-State Concept Comprehensive Strategy on December 23, 2022. The strategy aims to utilize digital technologies to revitalize regional economies and address social issues, promoting a balanced population distribution across Japan. It emphasizes nationwide expansion of digital services through comprehensive infrastructure, linking data among services for well-being and efficient governance. Key initiatives include developing tailored digital infrastructure facilitated by a government cloud for seamless local and national services, and architecting the Digital Lifeline for community services and interoperable data infrastructures to foster societal growth. Additionally, it aims to facilitate data sharing through open-source apps, APIs, and regulatory reforms, encouraging innovation and accessibility.

This document is the first intergovernmental agreement on common approaches to safeguarding privacy and other human rights and freedoms when accessing personal data for national security and law enforcement purposes

The Act would accelerate the public sectors digital transformation in Europe and assist the development of a network of independent and linked digital public administrations. The EU and its Member States will be able to provide consumers and companies with improved public services and achieve Europes digital ambitions for 2030 while promoting trustworthy data flows.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in India (MoHUA) launched the DataSmart Cities strategy to empower urban areas through strategic data use. The initiative aims to transform urban management with digital technologies by making cities 'DataSmart,' improving governance, enhancing service delivery, and stimulating innovation and civic engagement through effective data utilization in cities across India. Part of this strategy includes the India Urban Data Exchange (IUDX), an open-source platform that facilitates  data exchange across city stakeholders. Additionally, MoHUA developed the Data Maturity Assessment Framework to help cities assess their readiness and capability to utilize data effectively. DataSmart Cities is a comprehensive strategy involving the creation of institutional structures, processes like policy formulation and data standards, and the implementation of technology platforms like IUDX and an Open Data Portal to support data-driven decision-making.

The Public Data Strategy Committee, led by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, has implemented the 4th Basic Plan for Public Data Provision and Utilization Activation to enhance data transparency and usability in South Korea. The plan aims to align with the  administration's vision of a digital platform government by fully opening public data, improving data quality, and fostering public-private collaborations. Key goals include providing integrated and customized data services for citizens, creating new opportunities for businesses, and enabling data-driven, scientific governance. 

The Data Governance Act, adopted by the Commission on 25 November 2020, is intended to boost data collaboration across sectors and Member States by increasing trust in data intermediaries and strengthening data collaboration across the EU and between sectors. The initiative aims to make more data available and facilitate data collaboration across sectors and EU countries in order to leverage the potential of data for the benefit of European citizens and businesses.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) released the draft National Data Governance Framework Policy (NDGFP) in May 2022. This policy seeks to foster an ecosystem for AI and data-driven research and startups in India by establishing and enabling access to an extensive repository of datasets. It also aims to deliver better and more responsive governance to citizens, particularly in critical social sectors, by adopting a data-driven approach to governance. Key elements of the policy include setting up the India Data Management Office (IDMO) under MeitY and the Digital India Corporation, developing a repository of Indian datasets and providing request-based access to these datasets, and encouraging the private sector to contribute non-personal and anonymized data. The NDGFP, along with the IDMO and datasets programme, has been integrated under the INDIAai central programme, but has not yet been implemented.

The Bill will seek to modernize the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, providing it with the power to take “stronger action” against businesses that breach data rules and increase industry participation in “smart data schemes” designed to give citizens and small businesses more control of their data.

The aim of the Act on the Secondary Use of Health and Social Data is to enable the efficient and secure processing of personal data stored in social and health care activities and for social, health, guidance, research and statistical purposes, and to combine them with the personal data of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, Digital and Population Data Service Agency, Statistics Finland and the Finnish Centre for Pensions. The Act on the Secondary Use of Health and Social Data determines the disclosure and use of social and health data in research.

Enacted on 1 April 2022, the new amendments to the original Act aim to make data collaboration more efficient by providing guidelines on personal data transfers and anonymization.

Introduced with the Data Availability and Transparency (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2020 to implement a scheme to authorize and regulate access to Australian Government data, the bill authorizes public sector data custodians to share data with specific users working on the delivery of government services; informing government policy and programs; and research and development.

The DMA provides that “gatekeepers” must grant their business users access to the data they generate by using their platform. The intention is to enable fair competition for digital businesses, generate increased innovation, and provide consumer protection.

The legislative arm of the EU Parliament voted to give initial approval to the DSA on 20 January 2022. Article 31 of DSA creates a procedure for the European Commission and national authorities (‘Digital Service Coordinators’) to compel confidential access to platform data.

The UK and Singapore signed a Digital Trade Agreement that supports the release of Open Government Information and collaboration related to Data Innovation. This includes data sharing projects, the development of policies and standards for data portability, and sharing best practice approaches to data trusts

The bill aims to promote the electronic processing of federal processes (digital priority principle). These processes include the interaction of authorities at all levels of government with each other, as well as with the public and businesses. In essence, the LMETA establishes the general conditions for the development of e-government at the federal level, the forms of cooperation with other authorities and organizations in the area of e-government, and electronic administrative services.

The policy will facilitate the access, use, reuse and redistribution of public data. Through this policy, valuable information is made available to the public for the use and generation of social and economic value from these data, for the benefit of citizens and other stakeholders.

Researchers affiliated with an institution of higher education or nonprofit whose mission includes developing a deeper understanding of the impacts of platforms on society can be given access to data held by online services.

Through Resolution 460 of 2022, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (MinTIC) issued the National Plan for Data Infrastructure (PNID) and its Roadmap, in order to promote the digital transformation of the State and the development of a data-driven economy.

Provides provisions for qualified researchers, affiliated with an institution of higher education or a nonprofit organization, to access data held by online services.

Proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in February 2022. A major aspect of it is to refine the scope of how data is shared in the targeted sectors.

The Data Act, whose proposal was issued on 23 February 2022, aims to create a framework which will encourage business-to-government (B2G) data collaboration. This includes means for public sector bodies to access and use data held by the private sector that is necessary for exceptional circumstances, particularly in case of a public emergency such as floods and wildfires, or to implement a legal mandate if data is unavailable. The act also includes provisions related to B2B and B2C data sharing, including with respect to IOT products (e.g. connected devices) and related software services.

The Framework acknowledges that data has the potential to provide the basis of a new social contract and create tremendous innovation and societal value that benefits both the economy and people. As such, the proposed policy framework aims to “maximize the benefits of a data-driven economy by creating an enabling policy environment for the private and public investments necessary to support data-driven value creation and innovation.”. The framework also makes clear that there are risks associated with the irresponsible collection, processing, and storing of data and that the right policies and regulations are required to ensure that personal data is managed, used and re-used in responsible ways.

This World Bank report offers policy considerations for enhancing access to data and using it for societal good. 

Chapter 14 of the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement supports the release of Open Government Information and collaboration related to Data Innovation. This includes data sharing projects, the development of policies and standards for data portability, and sharing best practice approaches to data innovation

This document provides a framework for government action to set the correct conditions to make private and third sector data more usable, accessible and available across the UK economy while protecting people’s data rights and private enterprises’ intellectual property.

The recommendation is a  legal instrument expected to outline common values and guiding principles for open science, identify specific actions for open access and open data, make recommendations to engage the public with science, and make commitments to make it easier to produce and disseminate scientific knowledge globally.

The Financial Data Transparency Act (S. 4295) and  Financial Transparency Act (H.R. 2989) is a RegTech bill that seeks to unlock data in the financial regulatory sector.

The proposed law will direct the seven major U.S. financial regulatory agencies to adopt consistent data fields and formats for the information they already collect from industry under securities, commodities, and banking laws. The Financial Transparency Act directs financial regulatory agencies to make their reporting information that existing laws require available as open data — electronically searchable, downloadable in bulk, and without license restrictions.

Adopted at the 29th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People’s Congress of the PRC. It became effective in September 2021. It is a comprehensive policy framework touching upon various aspects of data practices. Chapter five aims to promote “security and openness of government data'.

The Japanese government formulated the comprehensive national data strategy in September 2021. Implementation is carried out  by the newly formed Digital Agency. The Strategy aims to address the nation's lag in digitalization by creating a highly integrated digital society that merges physical and cyber spaces. Key initiatives include the development of a cross-domain data exchange platform, the promotion of open data principles across government and private sectors, establishing data trading markets and personal data stores (PDS), and the establishment of standardized data cataloging and metadata frameworks to facilitate data sharing and reuse. Japan's strategy also focuses on fostering trust in data, ensuring cybersecurity, and enhancing data literacy and infrastructure, while coordinating international collaboration efforts to promote Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT). 

The Government of Japan launched its 6th Science, Technology, and Innovation Basic Plan in March 2021. This Basic Plan furthers the nation's goals of developing a human-centric "Society 5.0" which blends cyber and physical realms to enhance economic growth and social solutions. The plan seeks to enhance Japan's digital infrastructure, promote data sharing across sectors, and ultimately support sustainable development and resilience. It emphasizes the role of open data, data collaboration, and data linkage in building digital twin infrastructures, data collaboration mechanisms, and a research data collaboration platform.

Introduced in the House on 20 May 2021, the Social Media DATA Act requires consumer-facing websites and mobile applications with a large number of users to maintain advertisement libraries and make them available to academic researchers and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

This circular aims to accelerate the implementation of Frances Data strategy by relying on ministerial data administrators, whose list is published on data.gouv.fr. Appointed by the ministries at the request of the Prime Minister, they have developed the strategy of the various ministries in terms of data, algorithms and source codes and for coordinating the various stakeholders.

The Good Practice Principles for Data Ethics in the Public Sector support the ethical use of data in digital government projects, products, and services to ensure they are worthy of citizens trust. The document introduces 10 Good Practice Principles for Data Ethics in the Public Sector, including a set of specific actions which can support their implementation. 

Published on 21 February 2022, this proposed policy aims to allow the government to license and sell public data to the private sector. It notes that “the private sector may be granted access to select databases for commercial use…..Given that the private sector has the potential to reap massive dividends from this data, it is only fair to charge them for its use.” The clause on the commercialization of public data has received criticism, especially since India does not have a data protection law that provides accountability in cases of privacy violations.

With over 240 measures, the Data Strategy aims to facilitate the use of data and data sharing in Europe. The German government produced the strategy on the basis of a broad-based participatory process which included an online survey of more than 1,200 respondents.

On 20 January 2021, the OECD Council adopted a revised Council Recommendation on Access to Research Data from Public Funding. The legal instrument, in force since 2006, has been updated to address new technologies and policy developments, and provides policy guidance in seven areas. In addition, the revision expands the scope to cover not only research data, but also related metadata, as well as bespoke algorithms, workflows, models, and software (including code), which are essential for their interpretation. 

Signapore and Australia signed a Digital Trade Agreement that supports the release of Open Government Information and collaboration related to Data Innovation. This includes data sharing projects, the development of policies and standards for data portability, and sharing best practice approaches to data innovation

The code provides agencies with broader discretion to collect, use and disclose personal information in the rare event of a major disaster that has triggered a state of national emergency. In particular, the code facilitates the disclosure of personal information to public sector agencies to assist in the government response to a national emergency.

In his roadmap, the secretary-general lays out recommendations for further data collaboration between sectors, as a means of facilitating the achievement of the sustainable development goals.

Saudi Arabia has a very new Open Data Interim Regulations, released as part of the National Data Governance Interim Regulations first released on June 1st 2020.

Brazil established a Central Data Governance Committee that issues guidelines on data collaboration within the public sector and consults experts and the larger public on data governance measures. The decree brings the concept of the levels of data collaboration, which intends to categorize data by collaboration purposes based on sensitivity. It provides a set of standards, technologies, and procedures for public information collaboration.

In Vietnam, the Government and agencies enacted policy on data management, connection, sharing, and opening in a single legal document in 2020. That binding document is Decree no 47/2020/ND-CP on management, connection and sharing of digital data of government agencies

Issued in February 2020 to further a single market for data, which includes promoting flow of data within the EU and across sectors. The goal is to help the EU become an “attractive, secure and dynamic data economy. This also inspired the establishment of the European Alliance for Industrial Data, Edge and Cloud in October 2020.

Establishes an Open Data portal for government data in the country.

The act sets out the legal framework for the governance of personal data (proposing the creation of a regulator, the Data Protection Authority), it makes reference to non-personal data as well, providing for mandatory sharing of non-personal or anonymised data ‘to enable better targeting of delivery of services or formulation of evidence-based policies by the Central Government’.

Kenya enacted a series of regulations on 11 February 2022 including the General Regulations. These regulations are built upon the Data Protection Act passed in 2019. Section 20 of the General Regulations, which is subjected to Section 25 of the Act, details the protocols of personal data collaboration.

Decree No. 10,046/2019 provides for governance in data sharing within the Federal Public Administration and institutes the Citizens Base Register and the Central Data Governance Committee.

Entered into force on 16 July 2019, the directive lays down the legal framework for the reuse of public-sector information such as geographical, land registry, statistical or legal information held by public-sector bodies  or public undertakings, and of publicly funded research data. It aims to boost the socioeconomic potential of public-sector information, e.g. by making it more easily available for start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises, by increasing the supply of dynamic data* and of datasets with a particularly high economic impact, and by promoting competition and transparency in the information market.It is part of a package of measures designed to reinforce the EU’s data economy, including the development of artificial intelligence.

This resolution calls for advancing open government and open data policies in member countries along with the application of digital technologies to enhance public services and the promotion of exchanges of best practices for the development and application of said technologies with other member states.

Entered into force on 16 July 2019, the Open Data Directive stipulates minimum requirements for EU member states regarding making public sector information available for re-use. This directive provides a common legislative framework for this area. The PSI Directive focuses on the economic aspects of the re-use of information rather than on access to information by citizens. It encourages EU countries to make as much information available for reuse as possible.

In 2020, a Draft law of Data Protection and Privacy was approved, its Chapter II and VII provide detailed guidelines for Data creation and data sharing and transfer.

The DSGA regulates how and when public bodies can share personal data with other public bodies when providing public services. It also establishes the Data Governance Board to promote and advise on compliance with the DSGA.

The Regulation on a framework for the free flow of non-personal data in the EU aims at removing obstacles to the free movement of non-personal data between different EU countries and IT systems in Europe.

The decree establishes general guidelines for the Digital Government Policy for Colombia. Following its promulgation, a new digital government policy was established resulting in the publication of the digital government manual, where government open data is a central axis.

The draft decree aims to establish the general guidelines for governing the data infrastructure of Colombia and articulates the policies, regulations and guidelines for the availability, exchange and reuse of data and that allows its sustainability in the long term.

Receiving the Royal Assent on 23 May 2018, the Act is the UKs implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The Act entails Data collaboration Code of Practice (issued on 17 December 2020), which provides practical guidance on personal data collaboration in accordance with the UK GDPR. The Code itself is not legally binding, but the Code is admissible as evidence in UK legal proceedings.

The bill was signed into law in December 2018. The goal is to improve the experience for government customers by transforming how the government leverages available technologies. To provide better digital services, this is built upon promoting more efficient data sharing and analysis.

The CLOUD Act is a United States federal law enacted in 2018 which amends the Stored Communications Act (SCA) of 1986 to allow federal law enforcement to compel US-based technology companies via warrant or subpoena to provide requested data stored on servers regardless of whether the data are stored in the US or on foreign soil.

Passed in 2018, the Bill aims to set out a consistent governance framework across the public bodies in Singapore and to support a whole-of-government approach to the delivery of services in the public sector. According to the Bill, when a data collaboration direction is given, Singapore public sector agencies and their officers are authorized to share the information under the agency’s control with another Singapore public sector agency to the extent permitted by the data collaboration direction despite any obligation as to confidentiality under the common law.

This policy targets to achieve specific objectives including; establishing standards & principles for data management, establish a framework to develop human capital in data science, define the framework for data creation-anonymization-release, conduct big data analytics and business intelligence, foster data enabled technology innovations, establish data institutional governance framework, address concerns of security-privacy and data sovereignty, define the role of private sector and partnerships, establishing a data portal warehouse, developing back-end MIS among others.

The CLOUD Act is a United States federal law enacted in 2018 which amends the Stored Communications Act (SCA) of 1986 to allow federal law enforcement to compel US-based technology companies via warrant or subpoena to provide requested data stored on servers regardless of whether the data are stored in the US or on foreign soil.

The International Open Data Charter is a  set of principles and practices regarding how organizations, especially governments, might open their data and make information more widely available. It is governed by the principles of being open by default, timeline and comprehensive, accessible and usable, comparable and interoperable, for improved governance and citizen engagement, and for inclusive development and innovation.

Provides a framework for generating and publishing information and public documents. The act establishes various definitions including those for open format, machine readability, and the re-use of documents. This act also covers the whole country.

Last amended in 2019, this bill provides federal government institutions the authority to disclose information to each other to protect against activities that undermine the security of Canada. Enacted in 2019 as part of Bill C-59, the National Security Act, it is intended to improve the timely and effective sharing of information between government institutions for national security purposes.

Adopted in March 2015, The Africa Data Consensus lays out the challenges of reaching a data revolution in Africa and provides a strategy for implementing the data revolution in Africa. The aims within this strategy include strengthening national statistics offices, championing open data practices by creating an inclusive data ecosystem involving government, private sector, academia, civil society, local communities and development partners and adopting a needs-centered approach to data collection. The Consensus was adopted in response to calls for a framework on the data revolution in Africa and its implications for the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was decided that the plan of action would be guided by UNECA, the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Implementation would be in collaboration with partner institutions from the public and private sectors as well as civil society organizations.

Entered into force on 25 April 2007, the INSPIRE Directive aims to create a European Union spatial data infrastructure for the purposes of EU environmental policies and policies or activities which may have an impact on the environment. This European Spatial Data Infrastructure will enable the sharing of environmental spatial information among public sector organizations, facilitate public access to spatial information across Europe and assist in policy-making across boundaries.

Entered into force on 22 March 2003, last amending in 2018. The purpose of the Act is to regulate the procedure that allows everyone free access and re-use of public information available to state bodies, local community bodies, public agencies, public funds and other public law entities, holders of public authority and public service providers.