The European Commission says one thing with the Digital Omnibuses, but does something else

**European Commission's "Digital Omnibus" Proposals Spark Data Protection Concerns** The European Commission's recent "Digital Omnibus" proposals, unveiled in November, are raising significant alarms among digital rights advocates. These proposals, intended to update digital legislation, are seen by some as potentially undermining crucial data protection rights, particularly concerning pseudonymized and special categories of personal data. The implications for individuals' privacy and the future of robust data governance within the EU are substantial, prompting calls for a thorough re-evaluation of the proposed measures. A key point of contention is the proposal to no longer classify pseudonymized data as personal data under GDPR. This would effectively remove protections for data that, while stripped of direct identifiers, retains a decryption key linking it back to an individual. Furthermore, the proposals suggest lifting the current prohibition on processing special categories of personal data, such as health or ethnic origin, when used for AI development. This move is particularly concerning given the inherent risks associated with such sensitive information and its potential misuse in advanced technologies like deepfakes or discriminatory AI applications. These proposed changes could significantly impact the effectiveness of existing regulations like GDPR and the recently adopted AI Act. By weakening protections around pseudonymized data, individuals' privacy could be more easily compromised as large-scale data collection continues. The potential loosening of restrictions on sensitive data processing for AI purposes threatens to create new avenues for discrimination and rights violations, potentially turning the AI Act into a less effective regulatory tool even before its full implementation.