New regulations for sharing data

The Act of 11 August 2021 on open data and re-use of public sector information (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 1641) introduces several novelties and changes, such as: it specifies the principles of data openness, rules and mode of sharing and transfer of public sector information for re-use and entities that make available or transmit this information.

 

The scope of the Act of 11 August 2021 on open data and re-use of public sector information (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 1641) includes the introduction of:

  • the principles of provision of public sector information free of charge, with certain exceptions, and the procedure and method of transferring it for re-use,
  • modified rules for providing information for state museums, local government museums, public libraries, research libraries, pedagogical libraries and archives,
  • rules and procedures for sharing research data generated or collected as part of scientific activities financed from public funds,
  • the rules and procedures for sharing and re-using public sector information, in particular those having the characteristics of a work or the subject of related rights,
  • the obligation to develop an Open Access Policy to research data financed from public funds by the minister responsible for higher education and science,
  • rules and mode of sharing dynamic data (public sector information recorded in electronic form, subject to frequent updates or updates in real time, including due to their variability or rapid obsolescence, in particular data generated by sensors),
  • principles and mode of sharing high-value data (public sector information, the re-use of which is associated with significant benefits for society, the environment and the economy, in particular due to their suitability for creating products, services and applications based on the use of this data),
  • introducing the obligation to develop an Open Data Program by the minister responsible for computerization, in order to increase the amount and improve the quality of public sector information and private data, as well as metadata describing their structure,
  • the rules and procedures for providing public sector information of particular importance for the development of innovation in the country or for the development of the information society (this information will be made available on the data portal, i.e. in a publicly available ICT system run by the minister responsible for computerization),
  • the rules and procedures for sharing private data of particular importance for the development of innovation in the country or for the development of the information society,
  • the position of representative for data openness - obligatorily in the office serving the minister in charge of the government administration department, in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister and in the Central Statistical Office and optionally in other entities - responsible for implementing activities aimed at increasing the amount and improving the quality of public sector information made available on the data portal for reuse,
  • rules and procedures for disclosing information in the form of a request for re-use.
New categories of public sector information

New categories of public sector information have been identified, i.e.:

  • high-value data, the use of which is associated with significant benefits for society, the environment and the economy,
  • dynamic data, i.e. data that is subject to frequent updates or updates in real time (e.g. environmental data, data generated by sensors, traffic data).
New data portal

Among other things, the Act defines a data portal, i.e. a publicly available ICT system run by the minister responsible for computerization, used to make public sector information available for re-use and private data for use. The data portal will replace the current central repository of public information, the regulation of which will be separated from the Act of 6 September 2001 on access to public information and transferred to the Act in question. Dane.gov.pl will act as a data portal.