EU Data Act (for software buyers)

The EU Data Act is the European regulation, applicable since 12 September 2025, that requires data-processing services to make switching between providers easier, with switching charges removed from 12 January 2027. For software buyers it converts part of vendor lock-in from a commercial fact into a regulated one.

Why it matters

A dealer signing a multi-year software contract now has legal ground under the exit questions that used to be a negotiation courtesy: data comes out, and from 2027 the meter for leaving stops running.

Common confusion

The legal right to switch does not perform the migration. Extraction, validation, re-integration, and the process change inside the company remain the buyer's work whatever the law says about the fees — which is why the exit clause belongs in the contract, not in the statute's shadow. Primary source: the European Commission's Data Act factpage.

Where we use it

The exit clause and the one-week-removal question in What to check before you sign, alongside deletability as the design property that makes the right usable.