Madrid, July 14, 2021 -Todaytwo important presentations were held for the technology and digital industry in Spain, which of course DigitalES, Spanish Association for Digitalization, could not miss. The first of these, at the facilities of Red.es, was the launch of the Spanish Gaia-X Hub.

GAIA-X is an initiative at European level to which more than 500 entities have adhered and which seeks European digital sovereignty in the cloud and data sharing. Its purpose is to create a common infrastructure within the EU to serve as a reference for digital actions.

The objective is to provide SMEs and micro-SMEs with greater access to data, as well as the construction of interoperable systems that promote the creation of new technological applications and the development of technologies such as artificial intelligence.

Also, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation has opened an expression of interest for those interested in participating in this national Hub, as well as in a specific one that will be dedicated to tourism. The deadline for receiving proposals is July 12.

Secondly, the President of the Government has presented the Charter of Digital Rights at the Moncloa Palace, in whose drafting process we have made different contributions from DigitalES.

Thus, among other proposals, DigitalES warned of the risk that the title “Charter”, as well as the wording of its chapters, could be interpreted as a legal initiative, in which case it would be necessary to carefully study its fit with current legislation on matters such as data protection and privacy.

Spain, “pioneer” in the protection of digital rights

In any case, at DigitalES we consider that it is positive that progress is being made in everything related to ensuring the protection of rights in the digital environment, and we highlight the pioneering role that Spain is playing, within the European Union, in this necessary debate.

The Vice President and Commissioner for Competition of the European Commission, Margrethe Vestager, spoke along the same lines last Friday at DigitalES Summit 2021. In his speech (which you can watch again in our YouTube channel or read in full HERE), said: “People must trust that digital technologies will be useful to them. They must feel in control. This starts with having the same level of rights online as in the offline world. Spain is a pioneer in this field, with its Charter of Digital Rights.”