Tommaso Fia (University College London, Faculty of Laws) has posted Non-personal Data in the European Union: Law, Governance and Justifications (Cambridge University Press 2027) (forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
The file includes chapters 3, 4 and 6 from my forthcoming monograph ‘Non-personal Data in the European Union: Law, Governance and Justifications’ (Cambridge University Press 2027) (forthcoming).
Chapter 3: Theories of Data Governance. This chapter examines the theoretical and conceptual accounts that shape competing models for governing non-personal data. It canvasses the various political-philosophical perspectives that provide justifications for how non-personal data ought to be regulated in society. This sheer theoretical plurality is made up of libertarian, liberal-egalitarian, communitarian, welfarist, institutionalist, republican, critical and relational-egalitarian frameworks of data governance. These accounts conceptualise data in various ways using different metaphorical objects, articulate governance aims and foreground diverse sets of actors and institutions for governance. Each theory is assessed for its explanatory power and its implications for understanding unilateral data control. By mapping these competing accounts, the chapter highlights that data governance can be shaped by different theoretical and conceptual perspectives and show contested normative commitments.
Chapter 4: EU Data Law and Non-personal Data. This chapter examines EU data law as a legal domain that aims to govern non-personal data mainly through a ‘market instrumental’ lens. In doing so, it essentially views non-personal data as a tradeable commodity to be exchanged in markets. EU data law is made up of two main frameworks: vertical and horizontal. The vertical framework includes sector-specific rules (eg finance and chemicals) as well as in EU competition law, platform law, consumer law and AI law. The horizontal framework, which is comprised of the Free Flow of Data Regulation, the Data Governance Act (DGA) and the Data Act, is geared towards building fairness and weaker parties’ participation in data markets. It also touches on the Common European Data Spaces, the Data Union Strategy and the Digital Omnibus Regulation proposal. Ultimately the chapter argues that while EU data law seeks to empower ‘weaker’ actors, its heavy reliance on market-based justifications often sidelines thicker forms of social justice.
Chapter 6: Just Data Law and Governance: Core Components and Principles. This chapter proposes a framework for just data law and governance in the EU, moving beyond the current market-instrumentalism that characterises the existing legal framework on non-personal data. To address systemic interpersonal and social injustices, it argues in favour of an approach grounded in concurrent strategies. First, it advocates for two principles to drive down unilateral control in intellectual property: the numerus clausus of intellectual property rights and the social function of IP. Second, it calls for a shift towards enabling control seekers to make an actual, meaningful choice in contracts to prevent data control holders from leveraging superior bargaining power. Finally, the chapter outlines four operational pillars for data as a commons: democratic participation and deliberation to decide what gets datafied; access rules and principles; use limitations based on processing purposes; and more equitable value distribution among a broader range of actors, such as urban communities and SMEs. The core components of just data law reconcile diverse theoretical worldviews with practical governance tools to foster a more equitable data future.
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