The Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD), a coalition of 70+ leading consumer and digital rights groups from the United States and Europe, is deeply concerned about the European Commission’s upcoming “Digital Omnibus Package.” What is billed as a technical effort to “simplify” digital rules risks dismantling the very protections that make Europe’s digital framework a global model, with repercussions at a global scale.

Should the Commission consider such changes, this would weaken key laws like the GDPR, AI Act, DMA and DSA, it will endanger consumers’ privacy, data security, and safety while giving Big Tech even greater dominance.

Over the past decade, the EU has led globally in building a digital space rooted in fairness and accountability.

• The GDPR gave people control over their personal data.
• The AI Act set standards to ensure safe, non-discriminatory AI.
• The DMA and DSA sought to curb the power and abuse of dominant digital platforms.

Each of these laws emerged from years of open debate and public consultation. They protect fundamental rights, promote trust, and have inspired governments worldwide.

The proposed “simplification” measures could:

• Narrow definitions of personal and sensitive data, including health data.
• Remove the need for cookie consent, allowing invasive tracking under “legitimate interest.”
• Enable AI training on personal data without user consent.

At a time when generative AI and other surveillance practices rapidly evolve, these shifts would erode privacy, undermine data protection, and reinforce the data-extractive business model of Big Tech.

The potential changes are not going to benefit European companies, contradicting the EU’s own digital sovereignty goals.

Ending consent for cookies will only increase an already thriving data market and non-EU-based data brokers. Allowing AI training based on legitimate interests will only confirm the business models of AI developers and Big Tech in the U.S. and China. Removing the rules created to ensure a level-playing field for companies would undermine, not enable European digital sovereignty.

OUR STATEMENT

TACD calls on the European Commission to:

• Reaffirm its commitment to rights-based digital governance.
• Halt any revisions that would weaken the GDPR, ePrivacy framework, AI Act or other core digital rules under the guise of simplification.
• Maintain transparent, inclusive policymaking processes that reflect the EU’s democratic values.
• Strengthen the enforcement of existing digital regulations rather than reopening them.

We urge the European Commission to reconsider this process and ensure meaningful public consultation on the full draft package. Europe’s global leadership in trustworthy digital governance depends on preserving, not diluting, these hard-won consumer protections.

MORE:

• BEUC concerns on Digital Omnibus – keep protections under GDPR and uphold the AI Act (Letter)
• EDRi – Forthcoming Digital Omnibus would mark point of no return (Statement)
• Noyb – Digital omnibus brings deregulation, not simplification (Open letter)
• TACD calls on the EU to resist U.S. trade deal coercion to weaken laws (Statement)