Digital Omnibus: A Privacy and AI Revolution for Europe?

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The European Union is preparing to reach a major milestone in its digital regulation. Based on the "Simpler and Faster Europe" initiative, the"Digital Omnibus" regulation proposal by the European Commission initiates a strategic shift, moving from strict and fragmented compliance to pragmatic simplification through harmonization.

The competitiveness objective is clear: reducing the administrative burden on companies by €5 billion by 2029 and promoting innovation and European sovereignty.

‍Innovation and AI at the heart of the European Commission's proposal

How can Europe lighten constraints weighing on companies without sacrificing data protection, while also creating fertile ground for technological innovation in the face of global competition?

Key points to remember for Marketing and Data Directors

The Digital Omnibus proposes a restructuring centered around three pillars:

1. Personal data evolution: The text introduces a "disproportionate means" criterion. If the re-identification of an individual requires excessive effort, time, or technological resources, the data can be considered anonymized, thus facilitating its reuse for R&D and AI.
2. End of the "ePrivacy" era: Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy directive is repealed and integrated into the GDPR as the new Article 88a. Browsers thus become the central point of consent, which could signal the end of traditional cookie banners in favor of automated browser settings. Furthermore, a unified European "right to silence" will prohibit re-soliciting a user who has refused consent for a period of 6 months.
3. AI in service of innovation: Model training (including web scraping) is now explicitly recognized as falling under legitimate interest, exempting the collection of individual consent. Derogations are also provided for the "accidental" processing of sensitive data within training datasets, provided they are filtered or secured so they do not appear in the model's results.

A highly anticipated text currently under negotiation

Although the text must still follow the European trilogue legislative process (Commission/Parliament/Council) and may undergo significant amendments, its impacts are potentially immense. Companies must begin anticipating the evolution of cookie banners by the end of 2026 by getting their tech ready for the reading of browser-sent "Privacy Signals" and auditing their AI training datasets to analyze the application of new AI derogations.