Visions of Technology

This article’s focus is on how the advent of big data technology and practices has been understood and addressed by policy makers in the EU. We start with a reflection on of how big data affects business processes and how it contributes to the creation of a data economy. Then we look at EU policy making on big data and its understanding of the role and impact of ICT in the economy. We study 3 major legal frameworks affecting data flows and uses: intellectual property rights, access to and re-use of PSI and the protection of personal data. We explore how these frameworks affect the use of big data and how this is perceived and dealt with in the policy documents. In order to widen our perspective, we also take a comparative look at similar legal frameworks and policies in the US.