Tech

The European Commission intends to amend the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to ease the operations of companies involved in artificial intelligence development. According to Politico, the respective proposals will be part of the "Digital Omnibus" package, which will be presented by the EU on November 19.
Despite official statements about "technical corrections", the documents obtained indicate significant changes, including allowing AI companies to process sensitive data such as political opinions, religious beliefs, or health status. There are also plans to redefine personal and "special" categories of data, as well as to make cookie banner regulations more flexible, enabling websites to track users without separate consent.
Experts warn that this could be the most serious revision of the GDPR since its adoption in 2016. The regulation's author, Jan Philipp Albrecht, described the initiative as a "blow to European data protection standards". The founder of the organization Noyb, Max Schrems, stated that the Commission is "secretly circumventing the legislative process" and warned of negative impacts on civil rights.
The proposal has already divided EU member states. Estonia, France, Austria, and Slovenia oppose the changes, while Germany supports loosening the rules to stimulate innovation. Heated debates are also expected in the European Parliament between proponents of AI development and privacy advocates.

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