Institutional repositories and online research infrastructures could fall under planned rules for digital services
Research should be excluded from the scope of a planned EU Digital Services Act, to ensure that repositories for research papers and data as well as other research infrastructures are not inadvertently undermined, the association of research funders and performers Science Europe has warned.
In a statement on 8 September, the group called for a “clear exclusion of data users and usage for the purposes of research”, much like the academic exemptions under the EU’s recently adopted rules on copyright and data protection.
Research “progressively relies on digital means as research institutions host large platforms storing research data, and researchers increasingly access, use, share, and re-use online content such as data, publications, and software. Therefore, the public research and innovation sector is likely to be impacted by any legislation on online services”, the group warned.
It was responding to a consultation on the act launched by the European Commission. The act is designed to make the market for online platforms more competitive and to bring together a patchwork of EU rules designed to protect users of such platforms.