Overview
- EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen is slated to present the Digital Omnibus package on November 19, and the text could still change before then.
- The drafts would create new exceptions allowing AI developers to process special categories of data, such as political views or health information, to train and run their systems.
- Provisions would narrow what counts as personal data by treating some pseudonymized information as outside GDPR scope and would add broader legal bases for user tracking beyond consent.
- Operational relief includes exempting narrowly used or procedural high‑risk systems from EU database registration, a grace period for AI‑output labeling, and delayed enforcement of penalties until August 2, 2027.
- The initiative follows heavy industry lobbying and U.S. criticism of EU tech rules, drawing strong pushback from privacy advocates and opposition from countries like Estonia, France, Austria, and Slovenia, while Germany pushes for bigger changes.