The broadening of the right to data portability for IoT products: Who does the Act actually empower?

In light of the European Commission goal to create a data-agile economy, the empowerment of data subjects is currently at the centre of new EU policy initiatives. The notion of empowerment is often equated with the strengthening of control over one’s own personal data. It typically pertains to individuals and their empowerment through tools such as consent and the data subjects’ rights. Especially the right to data portability enshrined in Article 20 GDPR is increasingly promoted as an essential tool, perhaps even as the main tool, to ‘further strengthen’ control of data subjects. Yet, the Data Act proposal introduces a substantial shift in the discourse about the data portability right and individual empowerment.