What it says
- Connected products must be designed and manufactured, and related services provided, so that their data and the metadata necessary to interpret it are accessible to the user by default, easily, securely, and free of charge.
- In a comprehensive, structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and, where relevant and technically feasible, with direct access for the user.
- The obligation applies to what is placed on the market after September 12, 2026 (Article 50). The rest of the Regulation has been applicable since September 12, 2025.
- Before selling or renting a connected product, the seller must already inform the user, among other things, of the type, format, and estimated volume of data it generates and whether it stores it on the device or on a remote server (Article 3.2).
European Commission page on the Data Act: digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu
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