The European legal framework for the free flow of data. The peril of a regulatory burden

Abstract

The increase in the free flow of data due to the digitalization has been followed by an even relevant growth of data localization restrictions required by EU member States legislative or administrative measures. The European legislator, willing to build a digital single market where all data can flow freely across EU, decided to face the data localization phenomenon through many different and sector-specific interventions, mainly based on the – still blurred – distinction between personal and non-personal data. Thanks to the analysis of the main sources of the European legal framework, this paper will assess if this patchwork, chosen over an overarching approach, is the most adequate for the common European data space.