The right to data portability: A holistic analysis of GDPR, DMA and the Data Act

The right to data portability is a relatively new legal right introduced and enshrined by the General Data Protection Regulation with the objective of empowering data subjects to exercise agency over their data and how data controllers interact and safeguard the personal data entrusted to them. Most recently, the Digital Markets Act and the Data Act have also introduced tertiary legal provisions building on the right to data portability, therefore adding a previously unforeseen nuance to it. However, due to many factors, the right to data portability has found little or no practical application. In this context, this paper explores the current landscape of the right to data portability, with an examination of possible complementarities and conflicts between the GDPR, the Digital Markets Act, and the Data Act. This analysis will take into consideration the underlying objectives of these three Regulations, not only with the purpose of proceeding with a comparative analysis of the contours of the right to data portability under the aegis of these Regulations but to advance with a holistic analysis of the tangible application of the right and how these regulations might permit or hinder this application for the benefit of data subjects.