Art. 6 Points of contact and public information on the data access process | Data access for vetted researchers | DSA

Article 6 establishes the transparency and communication infrastructure that underpins the entire data access process.

It requires both Digital Services Coordinators and data providers to set up dedicated points of contact, and places specific disclosure obligations on data providers that go beyond mere contact details — notably the requirement to publish a data catalogue and suggested access modalities.

This article is foundational in a practical sense, as it shapes the information environment within which researchers will formulate their applications and within which Digital Services Coordinators will assess them under Article 7 and beyond.

Important points:

Both Digital Services Coordinators and data providers must establish a dedicated point of contact and communicate its details to the Commission, which will publish them on the DSA data access portal.
Data providers must publish on their online interfaces a DSA data catalogue describing accessible data assets, their structure and metadata, along with suggested access modalities reflecting the sensitivity of those assets.
Data providers must regularly update the catalogue and access modality information, in particular to reflect outcomes of risk assessments and audits carried out under Regulation (EU) 2022/2065.

1. Each Digital Services Coordinator and each data provider shall establish a dedicated point of contact, whose task shall be to provide information and support on the data access process.
1. The Digital Services Coordinators and data providers shall communicate their points of contact to the Commission, as soon as possible. The Commission shall publish the details of the points of contact referred to in paragraph 1 in the public interface of the DSA data access portal.
1. Each Digital Services Coordinator shall make available and easily findable on its online interface, the details of the point of contact established pursuant to paragraph 1 together with a link to the DSA data access portal.
1. Data providers shall make the following information available and easily findable on their online interfaces:
  1. the details of the point of contact established by them pursuant to paragraph 1;
  2. a link to the DSA data access portal;
  3. a DSA data catalogue, which describes the data assets, that may be accessed for the purposes set out in Article 40(4) of Regulation EU 2022/2065, as well as their data structure and metadata;
  4. suggested access modalities for the data in the catalogue pursuant to point (c), adequate to the level of sensitivity of the different data assets.
1. The information referred to in paragraph 4, points (c) and (d), shall be regularly updated, in particular to reflect data related to the risk assessments carried out pursuant to Article 34 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 and the audits carried out pursuant to Article 37 of that Regulation.