"Simplificaiton" of EU digital regulations risks sacrificing rights in global AI race

Author: Devin Windelspecht, MSc

November 26, 2025

The rapid and largely unchecked growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has raised significant concerns around its potential threats to privacy, digital rights, and use in surveillance, immigration control, and warfare, risking fundamental civil and human rights. HRRC calls on the EU to strengthen, rather than deregulate, its digital protections, especially regarding AI data usage.  

[Image source: DuckDuckGo Search]

A push to streamline the European Union’s (EU) digital regulations in a bid to stay competitive amid the global Artificial Intelligence (AI) boom has drawn criticism from human rights, civil society, and digital rights groups for weakening the bloc’s digital protections for internet users – currently one of the strongest in the world – especially around AI. 

The updated regulations, referred to as a “Digital Omnibus” by the EU Commission, aims to, among other intended results, “streamline rules on artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity and data” and “unlock high-quality data for AI,” according to a press release. 

EU officials have framed the Digital Omnibus as a way to maintain competitiveness in the digital age: “By cutting red tape, simplifying EU laws, opening access to data [...] we are giving space for innovation to happen and to be marketed in Europe,” said Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, in the statement. 

However, rights groups warn that the proposals put forward by the Digital Omnibus undermine previous regulations, including the landmark 2024 Artificial Intelligence Act, such as by delaying the implementation of stricter regulations for “high risk” uses of AI – those that are judged to pose a risk to health, safety or fundamental rights – until at least 2027. The rules would also make it easier for companies such as Google and Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) to collect users’ data to train AI systems. 

A letter signed by 127 civil society organizations, trade unions, and public interest defenders labeled the Digital Omnibus as the “biggest rollback of digital fundamental rights in EU history." Among other concerns, the signers warn that the Digital Omnibus will “remove some of the guardrails designed to ensure that AI is developed safely and without discrimination,” including by allowing AI companies to exempt themselves from the EU public AI database with little to no oversight. 

Digital privacy is also raised as a major concern, with the proposed Omnibus changes threatening to “weaken the only clear rule that stops companies and governments from constantly tracking what people do on their devices,” through proposed changes to ePrivacy Framework, a 2002 digital privacy law. The letter warns that the changes could allow commercially-traded data to be used to spy on the private lives of citizens, such as by revealing their home addresses, healthcare providers, and places of worship. 

In addition to a desire to better compete with the U.S. and China in the AI industry, geopolitics may also be playing a role in the EU’s deregulation efforts, with reports of lobbying by the Trump administration to deregulate AI. Trump’s Vice President, J.D. Vance has previously criticized EU digital protections and efforts to curb the spread of misinformation online. 

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Glossary 

• Artificial intelligence (AI) – the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings.

• Civil society – groups that belong outside of government structures but that contribute to the larger society of a country. These include nonprofit organizations, the media, advocacy groups, and religious groups.

• Commercially-traded – goods or materials that are bought and sold in the marketplace, typically involving transactions between independent parties.

• Cybersecurity – efforts to prevent private information or government secrets from being accessed or spread online. 

• Deregulation – weakening or removing existing laws and rules.

• Digital privacy – the right of users to browse the internet without their data being sold or used to track them. 

• Digital regulations – laws and rules that determine how companies and governments can use user’s data or otherwise operate on the internet. 

• Digital rights – the rights of users of the internet, which often include rights to data privacy and access to a wide range of information online. 

• EU Commission – one of three major organs of the European Union, operating in an executive role. 

• Exempt – to have laws and regulations not apply to an organization or individual due to special considerations. 

• Geopolitics – the study of the relationship among politics and geography, demography, and economics, especially with respect to the foreign policy of a nation.

• Lobbying – the political practice of pushing for a desired political outcome through attempting to influence votes of representatives and decision making individuals. 

• Misinformation – information spread online that confuses or distorts facts. 

• Public interest defender – an individual or organization whose work is designed to represent the interests and righst of the general public of a given country.

• Red tape – official routine or procedure marked by excessive complexity which results in delay or inaction.

• Rollback – a turning back or retreat, as from a previously held position or policy.

• Streamline – to make simpler. 

• Surveillance – to track the movements or activities of an individual or group. 

• Trade union – an association of workers that advocate collectively for workers’ rights, better pay, and better working conditions, among other common demands. 

• Undermine - weaken.