Reconsidering the public-private data dichotomy in the European Union’s data sharing policies

This paper analyses one of the dichotomies around which the European Commission has built its policies to facilitate and stimulate data sharing as a key element of a thriving data economy, that is, the distinction between public sector and private sector data. The paper investigates the assumptions underlying this dichotomy and whether they still hold under the current dynamics of data production. In particular, this article focuses on European Union legislation and policies on accessibility and re-use of data to foster innovation and economic growth, embodied in what the European Commission understands as Government-to-Business (G2B) data sharing and Business-to-Business (B2B) data sharing.