Open Data from private companies?

When we think of Open Data, we often think of data from public entities published under an Open Data licence. In accordance with the Directive on the re-use of public sector information (PSI Directive), the current regulation covers public sector bodies only. While this Directive is being reviewed, more and more Open Data is published by private stakeholders. This development touches upon questions regarding Open Data definitions and the scope of current national and European policies.

An example of a private Open Data portal comes from the peer-to-peer ridesharing, food delivery and transportation network company Uber. The Uber Movement Open Data portal provides anonymised data from over two billion transportation movements for non-commercial re-use. In particular, urban planners benefit from the availability of this type of data. They can refine and adjust their plans and policies with this privately held Open Data. Potentially, public Open Data and private Open Data could be combined and lead to more thorough and enriched knowledge. Do you know other interesting examples of privately held Open Data or private Open Data portals? Share your ideas by getting in contact with the European Data Portal.