Civil society groups warn EU that Digital Omnibus reforms risk weakening core digital rights protections
noyb, EDRi, and ICCL have jointly sent an open letter to the European Commission warning that the proposed Digital Omnibus package risks weakening protections in the GDPR, ePrivacy Directive, and AI Act. The groups argue that key concepts may be redefined in ways that enable broader data exploitation while reducing oversight. They urge the Commission to withdraw deregulatory measures and conduct a full, transparent review before pursuing legislative changes.
Three major European digital rights organisations – noyb, European Digital Rights (EDRi), and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) – have issued an open letter to the European Commission expressing concern that the upcoming Digital Omnibus package could erode key safeguards in EU digital legislation. The groups say the reforms, presented as a streamlining exercise, would in practice amount to deregulation of the GDPR, the ePrivacy Directive, and the AI Act.
According to the open letter, the Commission is considering changes that were not previously announced, not included in public consultations, and not covered by impact assessments. The organisations warn that the proposed revisions could redefine core legal concepts such as personal data and sensitive data. For example, narrowing the definition of sensitive data to only what individuals ‘directly reveal’ could open the door to broad commercial inference models, while excluding pseudonymous data from GDPR protection would significantly weaken privacy safeguards.
The letter also draws attention to concerns that the reforms could expand exemptions for AI training under ‘legitimate interest,’ reduce transparency obligations, and delay enforcement of the AI Act. These changes, the groups argue, could weaken accountability mechanisms just as high-risk AI systems become more embedded in public services and commercial platforms.
EDRi, ICCL, and noyb caution that such deregulatory steps may reduce public trust in EU digital governance and create competitive disadvantages for companies that currently invest in complying with EU law. They also criticise the procedural approach, noting that accelerating the Omnibus process limits democratic scrutiny and raises questions about alignment with the EU’s own Better Regulation principles.
The organisations call on the Commission to withdraw the deregulatory elements, conduct a full Digital Fitness Check, and engage in transparent, evidence-based consultations. They emphasise that simplification should not come at the expense of fundamental rights or undermine the EU’s credibility as a global leader in rights-respecting digital regulation.
