Algorithmic technologies and artificial intelligence are centred on data and generate new business models, known as the data-driven economy. In the European Union context, the development of such new business is accompanied by a regulatory and political framework. An important aspect of this regulatory framework regards the legal conditions that enable the data collection, availability, sharing, use and reuse. Within the larger context, this article analyses the development of the European Union regulatory framework governing the availability, sharing and reuse of public sector data, also referred to as Public Sector Information policy. Anchored in the analytical tools provided by Discursive Institutionalism and Critical Data Studies and after studying the evolution of this policy over 25 years, this article argues that economic considerations have been overwhelmingly decisive in the European Union Public Sector Information policy and much less attention has been paid to fundamental rights and democracy issues. It also shows how European Union Public Sector Information policy contributes to the data infrastructure, enabling a thriving data-driven economy. In doing so, this article argues that the possible problematic effects of this new data-driven economy are not only affordances of the technology itself but are also the result of political and regulatory choices. More globally, the article stresses the need for policymakers to inscribe each of the policies and regulations affecting the digital transformation in the framework of fundamental rights and democracy.

Open Government Data (OGD) has been framed as a collection of tools enabling the achievement of diverse goals: to increase transparency and thus improve democracy, to boost economic development, and to enhance the efficiency of public services. To investigate the evolution of OGD, this study focuses on the work of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). To identify the underlying values and multiple purposes of OGD, we propose a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) study, which aims to show how OGD has been forged and how the expectations towards it have evolved. This paper aims to contribute to the existing literature, offering a critical perspective of the OECD's work on OGD, as well as developing a more nuanced understanding of OGD's conceptual features. Finally, the study reveals the emergence of a data‐driven government model, paving the way for further research on its effects on Public Administration and Public Law.

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