71. When should a legal representative be designated? Is such a legal representative liable for non-compliance with the Data Act by companies outside the EU?

The legal representative's role is to facilitate compliance with the Data Act by entities that make their services (including, but not limited to, related services) or connected products available in the EU market but are established outside the EU. All such entities must designate an EU-based representative. The competent authorities can address such a representative in all matters related to the implementation of the Data Act instead of or in addition to the non-EU entity. However, their liability is limited to their obligations as representatives under the Data Act. The role and responsibilities of legal representatives under the Data Act is similar to that of legal representatives under the GDPR (cf. European Data Protection Board Guidelines 3/2018).