Data flows | alliedforstartups.org | The voice of Startups

Data

Data is the fuel of startups. The more data founders have and the more they can train their products, the more they can offer ground breaking technologies to consumers and European society. Access to data has been one of AFS priorities since day one. The promotion of free flow of data intra Europe and globally alongside with the protection of personal data is adamant for founders. The EU Free Flow of Data Regulation and the Public Sector Directive were a first step into giving entrepreneurs the right incentives to innovate in the European Union.

01. Access to Data
- An incredible amount of useful data is created and held in national silos by public institutions. Information on traffic, parking availability, statistics, weather or public utilities can spark innovative breakthroughs in various sectors. Many markets have already experienced the positive effects of opening their data. True to the global orientation of Allied for Startups, we want to spread these success stories. That’s why we strive to improve the quality of open data, notably by increasing the amount of real-time data, and making it available in a machine-readable format.
02. Free flow of data
- Startup founders think global from day one. Free flow of data therefore comes naturally to them. Unfortunately, today it is becoming increasingly curtailed by data localisation measures. These measures dictate in which jurisdiction data should be stored or processed. As localising data is not related to its protection, Allied for Startups advocates removing data borders. This will enable entrepreneurs to choose the most adequate and secure location for data storage & processing; thereby reducing costs and helping their businesses scale.
03. Privacy
- The protection of personal data is of paramount importance to startups. A click away from deletion, startups care deeply about user’s trust. To ensure that they can keep their user-centric approach while developing new products and services, new personal data protection laws need to take startups into account. In this process, it is essential that legislators understand how new technologies are being developed and deployed through startups, as they show that innovation and privacy are not a zero-sum game.