WIREDGOV

techUK welcomes the creation of a new taskforce aimed at unlocking up to £42billion of untapped economic growth across the European Union.

A new UK-France Data Taskforce has been created to unlock £42billion of untapped economic growth across the EU. The new taskforce will look to reaffirm both countries commitment to the European Digital Single Market (DSM) and drive forward the body of work needed to deliver it.

The taskforce will report to both governments by the end of the year on the following agreed objectives: (1) enhancing UK-France cooperation on open data; (2) establishing a set of principles for improving SME's use of data and data science; and (3) looking at ways to provide greater consumer control of data and improved data portability.

The taskforce will also report on ways small businesses can harness the global opportunities that data science will bring, including how best to create safe and fair frameworks which allow data to be shared internationally.

techUK welcomes the new data taskforce and its objectives, particularly its role in advancing the EU DSM strategy. The DSM strategy has the potential to be a key enabler for growth in the technology sector, but its success depends upon developing a policy framework that can cope with, and be able to adapt to, the fast pace of change.

 It is also important to acknowledge that the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be a major factor influencing the growth of the European Digital Economy. A GDPR that supports innovation for tech businesses and ensures consumer trust and confidence will be essential if the taskforce is to unlock the untapped economic growth they have targeted.

techUK is closely following the development of the GDPR. For a round-up of the latest negotiations on the new EU data rules set to impact the UK digital economy click here.

techUK is also actively engaging with members to provide industry input on the DSM strategy and have recently set out eight principles with other leading trade bodies from France and Germany which, we argue, should guide its development.