The terms of use of the Fairdata services will be updated in autumn 2025. The updated terms will replace the current IDA service terms. The purpose of these changes is to improve the accessibility and reliability of published research data and to facilitate the quality assurance of metadata. If you use or plan to use the IDA, Qvain, Metax, or Etsin services, these upcoming changes concern you. The use of the Fairdata PAS service is governed by a separate agreement.
What do the changes mean for you as a user?
1. Published research datasets are retained continuously under certain conditions, unless otherwise agreed
Published data (available openly, under embargo, or to logged-in users) can be stored in IDA continuously, without a service-imposed expiration date, even if the CSC project or the user account of the CSC project manager is no longer active. This long-requested change helps keep published data accessible even if the researcher who published it for example changes jobs or moves abroad.
Exceptions:
- Data that is not accessible via Fairdata services (access in Etsin is marked as “restricted”) requires an active CSC project and a project manager to be stored in IDA.
- If the data contains personal information, a valid personal data processing agreement is required, which in turn requires an active CSC project and a CSC project manager.
2. Data stored in IDA must be published within two years, if not otherwise agreed
IDA’s use requires that files stored in IDA are included in one or more published dataset descriptions, even if the data itself is not made publicly available. If at least the metadata of data transferred to IDA is not published within two years after storing it to the service, and the user does not request an extension with justification, CSC may delete the data from IDA. Users and their home organizations will always be notified before any potential data deletion.
The goal is to allocate more of IDA’s storage capacity to published datasets in line with the service’s intended purpose and to prevent unpublished data from being forgotten in the service.
3. Home organization gains editing rights to dataset metadata
Metadata administrators (so-called Qvain main users) of the home organization can edit metadata to improve for example dataset discoverability. This right does not apply to the IDA files included with the dataset, and all changes to metadata will be logged. The change log will be visible in Qvain. A mandatory field will be added to the metadata to specify the organization with administrator rights to the metadata.
4. Users and data controllers must ensure the service is suitable and secure enough for the research data being stored
IDA is not designed for storing special categories of personal data, but the updated terms will no longer categorically prohibit their storage. It is the responsibility of the user and the data controller to assess whether the service is suitable for their intended use. See Technical and organisational security measures for protection of personal data in Fairdata Services. Special attention must be paid to special categories of personal data. CSC offers separate services designed for sensitive data.
When will the changes take effect?
The new terms will be published in autumn 2025 and will take effect with at least two weeks’ notice. Users will be notified of the changes via email.
Frequently Asked Questions about the new Terms of Use
If only part of the data stored in IDA has been included to a published dataset when the CSC project is closed, CSC will delete the unpublished data. If you have any questions, please contact fairdata@csc.fi
Published data is retained continuously, without a service-imposed expiration date, as long as it is available through Fairdata either openly or conditionally, such as under embargo or after logging into Etsin. Data containing personal information requires a valid personal data processing agreement, which in turn requires an active CSC project and its project manager. The home organization that granted the IDA storage space also has the right to revoke access to the service.
The data should be included to a dataset using Qvain, but the dataset’s availability can be set to “restricted access,” meaning only members of the CSC project using the IDA service can access it. In this case, the CSC project and its project manager must remain active for as long as the data is to be stored in IDA. It is the responsibility of the project manager and members of the CSC project to share the data with others if needed. Alternatively, the dataset’s availability can be set to embargoed or as accessible after login. In the future, Fairdata services will also support defining access based on a data use application.
CSC may delete data if:
The organization’s metadata administrators (so-called Qvain main users) can improve metadata, for example, to enhance dataset discoverability. All changes are logged and visible in Qvain. When the dataset description is first drafted, the organization with rights to edit the metadata is defined. This organization can be changed later if needed.
As a rule, a closed CSC project will not be reopened if more than 90 days have passed since its closure. However, you may still be able to obtain editing rights to the dataset metadata by contacting your organization’s metadata administrator. You can also for example download the dataset from Etsin, re-upload it to the Fairdata services, and create a new dataset in Etsin. The new dataset can be linked to the previous version.
