TechFlow reports that the European Parliament has approved a Data Act requiring smart contracts to include termination mechanisms, a clause that could render most smart contracts illegal.
The legislation, which establishes rules for data sharing, passed with 481 votes in favor and 31 against. It now awaits formal approval from the Council of the European Union, composed of the heads of state of the 27 member countries.
CoinDesk reviewed the final draft of the bill in July, which includes a provision mandating the ability to securely terminate automated data-sharing agreements, including "smart contracts," rather than privately owned and licensed data records. Smart contracts are tools that automatically execute transactions when certain conditions are met. At the time, blockchain-related organizations such as Stellar, Polygon, NEAR, and Cardano expressed their concerns in an open letter.
