The European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs ('JURI') issued, on 28 January 2021, an opinion on the European Commission's digital strategy welcoming the strategy and making its suggestions on the same. In particular, the JURI Committee noted, among other things, the need for cooperation with third countries, the adoption human-centred and value-oriented approach, the increasing exchange of data between public and private entities, and the need for greater legal certainty to help in the deployment of technologies, such as artificial intelligence ('AI') solutions and blockchain. More specifically, the JURI Committee highlighted the need for, among others, better regulation principles to avoid regulatory fragmentation for data use and processing, fostering data access and concluding data sharing agreements, addressing imbalances in market power and abuse of dominant position when it comes to the control and ownership of data, as well as recommending the increased availability of raw and anonymised data particularly in connection to the provision of services for the greater public interest. In addition, the JURI Committee drew attention to the revision of the Directive 2002/58/EC on privacy and electronic communications ('the ePrivacy Directive') and to the need for more regulation of liability for data, particularly where AI related damage is involved.

You can read the opinion here.