The European Commission’s newly unveiled 'Digital Omnibus' reform package has drawn strong backlash from civil-society groups and data-protection advocates, who warn that the proposals risk undermining the stringent privacy standards established by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other EU digital laws.
According to CEO Matthew Prince, the update generated a malformed feature file that exceeded a hard limit in the company’s routing software, forcing systems to crash worldwide.
According to the two groups, the Commission’s intention to delay enforcement of high-risk AI requirements under the AI Act is a pragmatic move, allowing additional time for authorities and industry to finalise harmonised standards. However, they argue that the Digital Omnibus stops short of addressing the most significant structural inefficiencies in EU digital policymaking.
European Digital Rights (EDRi) warns that the European Commission’s new Digital Omnibus proposals could weaken long-standing EU privacy and AI safeguards. In a press release issued on 19 November 2025, the organisation argues that the reforms would dilute key protections in the GDPR, ePrivacy framework and AI Act by expanding exceptions for device-level data access, loosening limits on personal data processing, and delaying high-risk AI obligations.
The European Commission has launched its new 'Digital Package,' a set of legislative and policy proposals aimed at making digital business operations easier and reducing regulatory burdens for companies across the EU. According to the Commission’s FAQ page, the package is designed to support innovation, scaling and administrative cost savings for EU businesses, particularly in areas such as data access, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.
The European Commission is repositioning its forthcoming Digital Fairness Act to place online child protection at the core of the proposal, reflecting rising political and public pressure to address digital risks faced by young people.
The programme offers participants intensive online training on internet governance, along with skills-building in advocacy, communications, leadership, and project management. Selected Youth Ambassadors are matched with mentors from across the internet ecosystem and given the chance to attend a high-level internet governance event suited to their profile and regional context.
Speaking at the summit on European digital sovereignty in Berlin, French digital minister Anne Le Hénanff backed a 12-month freeze on obligations for high-risk AI systems, arguing that a temporary halt is necessary to give companies time to adapt and to avoid legal uncertainty during the transition.
Facts and Figures 2025 shows that while connectivity is expanding, the quality of access remains highly uneven, shaped by disparities in speed, affordability and skills. Only 4 percent of people in low-income countries have 5G coverage compared with 84 percent in high-income states, and mobile data usage in wealthy countries is nearly eight times higher than in poorer ones.
The European Commission’s new evaluation of the Digital Services Act outlines where the regulation overlaps with other EU tech laws and how these areas may affect compliance. The findings will guide the Commission’s upcoming digital fitness check, a broader effort to streamline the EU’s digital rulebook alongside the Digital Omnibus package.
Civil Society Alliances for Digital Empowerment (CADE) is a project co-funded by the European Union.
