Brussels rewrites AI and data laws as competitiveness fears grow

The European Commission’s Digital Omnibus package proposes major changes to the AI Act, GDPR, ePrivacy rules, and other digital frameworks under the banner of “simplification,” but critics argue it represents the largest rollback of digital rights in EU history. The package delays key AI Act obligations, weakens data protection rules, and narrows definitions that previously strengthened user rights, aiming to boost competitiveness against the US and China. Analysts and researchers cited in the article argue that Europe’s tech gap is driven not by regulation but by structural issues such as fragmented markets, weak capital availability, and restrictive immigration policies. By loosening its regulatory framework, the EU risks undermining the global credibility it built through the GDPR, DSA, DMA, and AI Act without addressing the real barriers to innovation.

Editor’s note: The article correctly highlights the EU’s structural weaknesses but downplays the impact of regulatory asymmetry. When European companies must comply with stricter rules than their American and Chinese competitors, the outcome is predictable: they lose momentum from the very start. Even well‑intentioned policies can backfire if they are not aligned with global realities. A similar issue can be seen with the Green Deal, where the EU invests heavily in green transformation while other economies profit from cheaper and less regulated solutions.

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