The EU Commission wants to significantly revise the rules for digital and data protection – and, according to a study, some of the planned changes were on the wish list of Big Tech companies. The NGOs Lobbycontrol and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) have the Results presented to the inquest on Wednesday. “The digital omnibus is the biggest Christmas present that Big Tech could have asked for,” says Bram Vranken from Corporate Europe Observatory. The EU Commission rejects the allegations.
Under the Omnibus label, the EU Commission has introduced several legislative changes in recent months, including in the area of the environment and reporting obligations for companies, for example in supply chains. What the omnibus packages have in common is that they clearly rely on deregulation and thus in many cases meet the interests of business.
Beim Digital-All, which the Commission presented in Decemberpressure also came from the German federal government and the USA. US President Trump has repeatedly cited consistent rules for tech companies as an argument for imposing high tariffs on his part.
The digital omnibus is intended, among other things, to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation and the AI Act, which regulates artificial intelligencebe changed. According to the Commission, the aim of the changes is to simplify the rules and reduce the burden on companies. This is intended to reduce costs for the economy and thus promote growth. EU Vice President Henna Virkkunen estimated that up to 5 billion euros could be saved by 2029 when presenting the plans.
AI rules shifted, data protection softened
The NGOs Lobbycontrol and Corporate Europe Observatory have now examined the planned regulations in detail and compared them with specific demands from the Big Tech industry. Accordingly, in at least seven cases, Big Tech’s lobbying positions were included in the Digital Omnibus. This includes, among other things, shifting rules for artificial intelligence, relaxing the definition of what constitutes personal data and using it to train AI models. “In its misguided pursuit of competitiveness, the Commission is sacrificing fundamental rights,” criticizes Vranken.
The digital omnibus is the biggest Christmas present Big Tech could have asked for
Bram Vranken, Corporate Europe Observatory
The EU Commission contradicts the allegations. “The digital omnibus is the result of a comprehensive, transparent process in which civil society, small and medium-sized companies and academic institutions had equal opportunities to make their contributions,” explains a Commission spokeswoman. The change in regulations should benefit “all European citizens and companies, regardless of their size”.
In addition to the criticism of the content, the two NGOs point out another problem: the lobbying work of tech companies is increasingly aimed at right-wing populist and extreme right-wing parties. Felix Duffy from Lobbycontrol describes this as an “extremely dangerous development”. “Authoritarian forces have an interest in unregulated platforms where they can spread lies undisturbed.” Weakening EU digital laws would strengthen the concentration of power of Big Tech and at the same time authoritarian political agendas.