The EU will introduce new regulations requiring technology giants such as Apple to simplify the online data migration process for users

According to news on June 29, the European Union is formulating a series of laws aimed at limiting the power of technology giants, the latest of which is called the "Data Bill." The bill will regulate how technology companies such as Apple use the data of European consumers and businesses and protect users' privacy and choice.

Currently, if you are a loyal user of the Apple ecosystem, you may store a large amount of data on iCloud, including contacts, messages, calendars, photos, videos, emails, notes, documents, device backups, etc. If you want to move this data from iCloud to other cloud services (for example, because of price increases), it is not an easy task, and this is what the new bill wants to change.

It is understood that data portability means that consumers should be able to freely move their online data from one service to another, making the process as quick and simple as possible. This can increase consumer selectivity and break the monopoly advantages of technology giants. Facebook, for example, had to launch tools to download and transfer data.

According to Reuters, EU countries and EU lawmakers reached a preliminary agreement on the bill on Tuesday. The bill will make it easier for users to switch to other data processing service providers, introduce safeguards to prevent illegal transfers of data by cloud service providers, and provide for the development of interoperability standards for the reuse of data between departments.

Apple will almost certainly be affected by this new law. While Apple supports the principle of data portability and is a founding member of the Data Transfer Initiative (along with Meta and Google), it currently does not provide a simple process for non-technical users to achieve this. . The new law may require Apple to provide a smoother process that allows consumers to transfer all their iCloud data to other cloud services such as Dropbox or Google Drive with the click of a button.

In addition to simplifying the process of migrating user data, the upcoming law will also give users more say in deciding what data can be used by technology giants. For example, if you have smart home products that communicate with servers owned by the brand, you'll be able to choose what data is shared and how the company uses it.

As with all EU laws, the process of passing the bill is long and complex, with many stages to be completed, so don't expect it to come into effect anytime soon. It is expected to take at least two years for the Data Bill to become law and apply to technology companies such as Apple.