Source: OJ L, 2025/2050, 9.10.2025Current language: EN
- Digital services act
Delegated acts
- Data access for vetted researchers
Article 2 Definitions
Summary What does Article 2 of the Data access for vetted researchers say?
This is the definitions article, establishing the common vocabulary that underpins the entire regulation.
Rather than standing alone, it builds directly on existing EU frameworks by importing definitions from the GDPR and Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, then adding eight regulation-specific terms.
These terms map out the key actors and procedural concepts involved in the researcher data access process, from those requesting data to those holding it, and the formal steps in between.
Important points:
- The definitions draw on and connect this regulation to the GDPR, Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, the Digital Services Act, and the Data Governance Act, making cross-regulatory familiarity essential for interpreting this act.
- A clear distinction is made between an applicant researcher (any natural person seeking data access) and a principal researcher (the one who formally submits the application), which has practical implications for accountability throughout the process.
- Data providers are specifically limited to providers of very large online platforms or very large online search engines designated under Article 33(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, meaning the regulation does not apply to smaller platforms.
Springlex's summary of the article is a reading aid, not a substitute for the legal text.
For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 shall apply. The following definitions shall also apply:
‘data access application’ means the information and relevant documentation submitted by applicant researchers to the Digital Services Coordinator of establishment or the Digital Services Coordinator of the Member State of the research organisation, to which the principal researcher is affiliated, to obtain the status of ‘vetted researcher’ as referred to in Article 40(8), first subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, for a specific research project involving access to data from a data provider;
‘data access process’ means the steps and procedures that may lead to the provision of access to the data as referred to in Article 40(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065;
‘applicant researcher’ means any natural person applying for access to data as referred to in Article 40(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, either individually, in a group or as part of an entity;
‘principal researcher’ means the applicant researcher who submits the data access application in their individual capacity or on behalf of an entity or a group of applicant researchers;
‘data provider’ means a provider of a very large online platform or of a very large online search engine designated as such in accordance with Article 33(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, to which a reasoned request might be addressed;
‘reasoned request’ means a reasoned request for data access pursuant to Article 40(4) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065;
‘amendment request’ means a request for amendment pursuant to Article 40(5) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 submitted by the data provider to the Digital Services Coordinator of establishment following the receipt of a reasoned request;
‘secure processing environment’ means secure processing environment as defined in Article 2, point (20), of Regulation (EU) 2022/868 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5).
Springlex and this text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. No liability is assumed for its content. The authentic version of this act is the one published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Definition
reasoned request
Definition
recipient of the service
Definition
secure processing environment
Definition
information society service
Definition
principal researcher
Definition
data access process
Definition
applicant researcher
Definition
data access application
Definition
data provider
Definition
intermediary service
- a ‘mere conduit’ service, consisting of the transmission in a communication network of information provided by a recipient of the service, or the provision of access to a communication network;
- a ‘caching’ service, consisting of the transmission in a communication network of information provided by a recipient of the service, involving the automatic, intermediate and temporary storage of that information, performed for the sole purpose of making more efficient the information's onward transmission to other recipients upon their request;
- a ‘hosting’ service, consisting of the storage of information provided by, and at the request of, a recipient of the service;
Definition
amendment request
Definition
online platform
Definition
online search engine
Definition
Digital Services Coordinator of establishment
Footnote 5