Data Diplomacy: Unlocking Influence Through Interest Groups in the EU

Data plays an increasingly important role in our daily lives, from personal use on our phones to its integration into economic activities, business innovations, and public services. Recognizing this, the European Union has developed a data strategy that aims to establish the EU as a leader in the global data economy ([EC], n.d.). A key component of this strategy is the Data Act, designed to enhance data availability and set comprehensive rules for data access and use across all economic sectors within the EU (Haeck, 2023). The Data Act has elicited mixed reactions from different stakeholders (Chee, 2023; n.a., 2023). Despite extensive research on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), another legislative initiative under the EU data strategy, there is a notable research gap in understanding the lobbying efforts surrounding the Data Act. This study addresses this gap by examining the influence of interest groups to identify the factors that contribute to successful lobbying on the Data Act proposal. Specifically, this research focuses on the interdependent exchange between the European Commission and interest groups, investigating how this exchange explains the variation in lobbying success during the policy formulation phase of the Data Act. Due to the European Commission’s resource constraints, the Commission relies on interest groups for information, citizen support, and economic resources to formulate policy, while interest groups depend on the Commission for influence (Klüver, 2011b). The results reveal that, contrary to theoretical expectations, economic resources and information provision were not the primary determinants of lobbying success for interest groups. Instead, alignment with public opinion and effective advocacy for public interest significantly enhanced their success. The results of this study indicate that policymakers in the context of the Data Act prioritized public opinion and considered the detailed preferences of various interest groups to achieve equitable and effective policy outcomes. This approach could lead to more democratic and transparent policymaking processes, ensuring that the policies developed are more reflective of public needs and concerns. Additionally, it could enhance the legitimacy and acceptance of the Data Act, as well-aligned policies with public sentiment are likely to face less resistance. However, the study is limited by the word count measure of information supply, potential selection bias of IGs, and the reliance on an ordinal scale for preference attainment, which may affect the robustness of the findings.