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Abstract:

Gathering knowledge in the European Internal Market should be as simple and quick as planning a cinema visit via the Internet. Different types of data (location, starring actors, ratings, prices, ...) from different information sources are thus linked in a single search result and finally combined into knowledge to allow an informed decision about a cinema visit. Similarly, the EU envisages an easily searchable infrastructure of Data Spaces consisting of an amalgam of linked data from different storage locations. Semantic interoperability is indispensable here and sets the stage for a broader evolution in data sharing. In doing so, computer systems are able to understand relationships between data and then link them together, making it easy to integrate data scattered across different storage locations in an environment such as a Data Space. The emphasis here is no longer just on sharing data, but also on sharing knowledge extracted from that data. In that respect, it remains to be seen whether the existing balance between data sharing and data protection, as set out in the GDPR, can still be maintained with the widespread use of semantic interoperability. The tools that shape this balance, namely a framework of principles and rights, may not be adapted to the widespread use of semantic interoperability and the broader evolution around data sharing and knowledge extraction that subsequently emerges. Moreover, semantic interoperability remains understudied by legal scholars.