Data Act· Article 32eb
Only Parliament amendments would change this article. Parliament committees have tabled 1 amendment to this article.
Latest text22 October 2026ST 14756/26
Contains no amendment to this article.
Text
Article 32eb Data Act as the IMCO draft opinion would amend it
Collective negotiation in good faith
Source Parliament, 8 June 2026. Article 32eb: COM(2025) 837 with the amendments of IMCO-PA-789877 · Amendment 74
Where a data expert representative recognised approaches a data controller to negotiate the terms under which personal data shall be processed for a defined or ascertainable group of data holders, the data controller is under an obligation to engage in good faith upon being notified of the mandate to negotiate.
The obligation to negotiate in good faith does not impose a legal obligation upon the data controller to reach an agreement, and is without prejudice to its freedom to determine the terms, scope or other essential parameters of the services that it provides. It does, however, require the data controller to respond in good faith to proposals advanced by the data expert representative, to make available the information reasonably necessary to permit an informed negotiation, subject to the protection of trade secrets in accordance with Directive (EU) 2016/943 and Articles 4(8) and 5(11) of this Regulation, and to refrain from engaging in conduct that would subvert the course of those negotiations.
Where negotiations have been ongoing for a period of four months and have not resulted in an agreement, either party may refer the matter to non-binding mediation before the competent authority designated under Article 32b or before a body designated by it for this purpose. Where mediation has not resulted in agreement within a further period of two months, either party may refer the matter to binding arbitration, which shall be conducted on a 'final-offer' basis unless the parties agree otherwise.
This Article does not apply to micro-enterprises or small enterprises within the meaning of Article 2 of the Annex to Recommendation 2003/361/EC.
Member States shall ensure that breaches of the obligation in paragraph 1 are subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions, in accordance with Article 40 of this Regulation.
Where terms have been negotiated between a data controller and an data expert representative acting pursuant to a valid mandate, those terms shall give rise to a rebuttable presumption that the best interests of the data holders represented have been respected in the processing of their personal and shall be made available by the data controller as machine-readable negotiated terms.
What each text does
- 19 Nov 2025 Commission proposalCOM(2025) 837 No amendment to this article.
- 8 Jun 2026 IMCO draft opinion · Alex Agius Saliba (rapporteur)IMCO-PA-789877 1 amendment to this article. Amendments in this document
- 10 Jun 2026 Council textST 10426/26 No amendment to this article.
- 18 Jun 2026 Council textST 10677/26 No amendment to this article.
- 3 Sep 2026 Council textST 12535/26 No amendment to this article.
- 2 Oct 2026 Council textST 13886/26 No amendment to this article.
- 22 Oct 2026 Council textST 14756/26 No amendment to this article.
Parliament amendments
1 amendment to this article
1 would add wording.
| Type | Rapporteur |
|---|---|
| + Addition | 1 |
By political group
- + Addition Rapporteur 1
74 +Addition Alex Agius Saliba (rapporteur)Rapporteur · IMCO “Article 32eb Collective negotiation in good faith 1. Where a data expert representative recognised approaches a data controller to negotiate the…”
Article 32eb
Collective negotiation in good faith
1.Where a data expert representative recognised approaches a data controller to negotiate the terms under which personal data shall be processed for a defined or ascertainable group of data holders, the data controller is under an obligation to engage in good faith upon being notified of the mandate to negotiate.
2.The obligation to negotiate in good faith does not impose a legal obligation upon the data controller to reach an agreement, and is without prejudice to its freedom to determine the terms, scope or other essential parameters of the services that it provides. It does, however, require the data controller to respond in good faith to proposals advanced by the data expert representative, to make available the information reasonably necessary to permit an informed negotiation, subject to the protection of trade secrets in accordance with Directive (EU) 2016/943 and Articles 4(8) and 5(11) of this Regulation, and to refrain from engaging in conduct that would subvert the course of those negotiations.
3.Where negotiations have been ongoing for a period of four months and have not resulted in an agreement, either party may refer the matter to non-binding mediation before the competent authority designated under Article 32b or before a body designated by it for this purpose. Where mediation has not resulted in agreement within a further period of two months, either party may refer the matter to binding arbitration, which shall be conducted on a ‘final-offer’ basis unless the parties agree otherwise.
4.This Article does not apply to micro-enterprises or small enterprises within the meaning of Article 2 of the Annex to Recommendation 2003/361/EC.
5.Member States shall ensure that breaches of the obligation in paragraph 1 are subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions, in accordance with Article 40 of this Regulation.
6.Where terms have been negotiated between a data controller and an data expert representative acting pursuant to a valid mandate, those terms shall give rise to a rebuttable presumption that the best interests of the data holders represented have been respected in the processing of their personal and shall be made available by the data controller as machine-readable negotiated terms.
Justification
To allow for data subjects to better control and their data use and negotiate better terms for their data use, we include a specific kind of data intermediation service, being the Data Expert Representative, that can register in the public Union register. This expert works under fiduciary duties to act, represent and advise the data subjects, to collectively negotiate better terms for the data subjects. This approach can be a good addition to the new art 88b of the GDPR as it empowers data subjects and can help improve the conditions of their data use.
- Rapporteur
- Alex Agius Saliba
- Group
- Rapporteur
- Targets
- Data Act Article 32e b (new)
- Document
- IMCO draft opinion
- Printed header
- Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 18 / Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 / Article 32e b (new)