robotics - legal aspects of new technologies

One of the main new institutions introduced by the EU’s Data Act is the user’s right to access data (including metadata necessary to interpret or use the data) derived from a connected product the person is using or a service related to a connected product.

The data which a user can access may have significant commercial value for the data holder (e.g. the manufacturer of a connected product). Therefore, it may be crucial from the data holder’s perspective to ensure that such data remain undisclosed, or that use of the data be restricted.

The internet of things and related services is one of the key industries affected by the EU’s Data Act. Businesses in this sector may have to make changes to bring their operations into compliance with the new requirements. In this article we examine the key obligations under the Data Act for IoT companies, and their operational implications.

Pre-contractual information obligations

What do these duties involve?

Entities that sell, rent or lease a connected product are required to provide at least the following information before entering into a contract with users:

• What data can be generated by the connected product (type, format, and estimated volume of data)
• Whether the connected product is capable of generating data continuously and in real time
• Whether the connected product is capable of storing data on the device or on a remote server, including, where applicable, the intended duration of data retention
• How the user may access, retrieve or, where relevant, erase the data, including the technical means to do so, as well as their terms of use and quality of service.

The Data Act became applicable on 12 September 2025. What do businesses need to pay attention to under this new EU-wide regulation?

Nature and purpose of the Data Act

The Data Act—Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2023 on harmonised rules on fair access to and use of data and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 and Directive (EU) 2020/1828 (Data Act)—is an EU regulation, and as such applies directly in Poland and all other EU member states. At the national level the Data Act will be supplemented by local regulations, but these will essentially govern only procedural issues (e.g. infringement proceedings), not substantive issues. In other words, substantively the Data Act will govern across the entire EU.

Recently the Kraków branch of the General Directorate of National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) held social consultations on issuance of a permit to conduct research in the form of a test drive of an autonomous car. Such consultations are required under Art. 65l of the Road Traffic Law of 20 June 1997.

According to an announcement from GDDKiA, the aim of the test drive is to study certain aspects of operating an autonomous car under actual traffic conditions (not artificial conditions). The tested car previously underwent a range of simulations, but now must be tested in road conditions.

Protection of possession of real estate against drones as a form of necessary defence is permissible only under exceptional circum­stances.