European Commission publishes proposals for new data bill, seeking to tighten control over smart contracts

On February 26, the European Commission released a proposal for a new EU data bill, some of which are detailed rules for smart contracts.

The draft bill defines smart contracts as: "computer programs on an electronic ledger that execute and settle transactions based on predetermined conditions. They have the potential to assure data holders and data recipients that the conditions for sharing data are respected."

Section 30 of the Act requires that applications using smart contracts should add termination functionality: "Ensure that there is a mechanism to terminate continued execution of transactions: A smart contract shall include internal functions that can reset or instruct the contract to stop or interrupt operations to avoid future (unexpected) execution. .” Experts point out that a kill switch means a single source can make changes to the code, which essentially threatens the promise of immutability in smart contracts.